


My Mother's Grimoire

by Anime_or_scifi



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Angst, Mild Smut, Past Character Death, Realistic Witch! Au, Witchcraft, ebb2k17, non graphic past abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 07:21:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 26,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13497366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anime_or_scifi/pseuds/Anime_or_scifi
Summary: Eren has been a solitary witch for some years, but isn't the most talented in his craft with few positive results. After stumbling upon a local coven he meets some people who take him out of his comfort zone, and meets one specific person changes his outlook on his craft as well as life.





	My Mother's Grimoire

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this fic all finished for a couple years now, and I'm excited to finally post it as part of the 2017 ereri Big Bang! I got to work with two wonderful artists, @cloudflowerkami https://cloudflowerkami.tumblr.com/post/170198787775/it-was-really-fun-to-draw-this-for-dr-sart-i
> 
> and 
> 
> @morebeesthanyoucouldimagine http://morebeesthanyoucouldimagine.tumblr.com/post/170198947296/my-mothers-grimoire-by-dr-sart-for-the-ereri
> 
> They've made such beautiful pieces! 
> 
> Enjoy!

"That's the last time I'll be stupid enough to put a tablespoon of gasoline into the cauldron..." Eren muttered to himself. He took the stark white bandages and wrapped his left palm after having tended his right forearm. His ears were still ringing from the smoke detector that had long since been turned off. "Stupid Pinterest, giving me stupid fucking ideas."

He continued grumbling to himself as he set down his unused bandage wrap and left his altar to get ready to leave. Now that he had scorched the last of his herbs and tainted his cauldron with bad energy, he figured he should restock his inventory. It was bothersome, but completely necessary.

He changed out of his pajamas, wincing when his shirt was caught on his fresh burns, and replaced his drab attire with a bright crimson shirt, black dress pants and suspenders. He threw on his shoes and started putting on his charmed cosmetics. He'd painted his nails black days ago, but he also enjoyed taking black body paint and covering his fingers tips, fading out the pigment past the bedding of his nails to give them a burnt look. He chuckled to himself, amused that he now had real burns and how the fake ones seemed useless. It was a pointless and nonfunctional routine, but having black fingers made him feel like a force to be reckoned with. And that was enough to keep the habit going strong. 

Next, he used the key around his neck to open his small cupboard hanging on his wall, and pulled out a jar of coal powder that he'd collected weeks ago. Taking a bit between his fingers, he used the coal to lightly dust the tips of his hair. The coal was from a ritual that he'd done to keep himself from spending more money than he should've; a practical spell. So, the remnants of the fire worked just as well. 

Setting the jar aside, he grabbed his messenger bag and waltzed out of his bedroom. He would've headed straight outside, if it weren't for the ash grey feline screeching for his attention. He turned on his heel with a fond smile on his face. "What is it, Soot?"

The creature stared at him from the ground, bounding towards him and rubbing herself against his legs. He kneeled to scratch behind her ears, earning appreciative purrs. "I have to go, sweetie. We'll play later," he promised. He kissed her atop her head. "Sorry about the smoke. Be good, and don't weasel your way into the cabinets again." 

With a heavy heart, he left his furry friend and exited his apartment.

 

~

 

Eren enjoyed his walks in his town. It was a rather urban area, cluttered with buildings and cars, but most of the establishments were older and took on a weathered aesthetic, giving the town a homey feeling. While he marched down the sidewalk, he took in a breath of fresh air, appreciating the beautiful sunny day. He loved this place, there were never too many people crowding the streets, most of the stores had plenty of flora decorating their exteriors and the wooden structures made it feel like less of a city and more of a place to call home.

He could feel the odd stares he was receiving, though they were few. It didn't surprise him. His shirt was more of a loud color and who wouldn't stare at seemingly burnt fingers? Not to mention he had bandages covering real burns. He didn't mind the onlookers, but he didn't invite them either. He couldn't blame them, but he didn't want to be regarded as a circus freak. 

Luckily, his stop was nearing. The Wings of Visions. A new age store that he'd recently become a big fan of. He turned the cold, brass doorknob, hitting the chime as he entered. Even though he was a regular customer who was very much welcomed, he was hesitant to step in the shop so suddenly. He always was.

The shop was fairly empty, only an elderly woman, along with a mother and her child browsed the shelves. "It's you again!" A cheerful voice grabbed his attention. "Looking for anything in particular today?"

Eren turned to face the delighted woman who ran the store, sitting on a velvet couch, reading a magazine. Her brown hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, her bangs placed neatly, framing her forehead. For owning such an antiquated shop, she dressed very modern with her blue, v-neck tee shirt and dark jeans. Eren liked her, but she made him nervous. Every time he checked out his items, she would ask what he was planning for his items and hinted at their purpose. He knew it was no secret that people who shopped here were either rock collectors and skilled chefs or they practiced the craft. It was easy to narrow down which one it was depending on what they purchased. He wasn't ashamed about his practice, but he feared negative reactions. Which was foolish, considering the woman also probably practiced the craft. 

"I'm just looking," he murmured.

"Alright, well tell me if you need anything." She went back to reading the glossy pages.

Eren turned and walked to the side of the dimly lit store that held the herbs. Had he been there for the first time, he would've needed to go on a hunt for them, considering the entire store carried their scent. He loved how everything was made of dark wood and the creak beneath his feet made the place seem like an old house. 

The herbs were fully stocked and fresh. He took a few pouches that were set out beside the boxes of herbs and picked out what he needed. "You should get some aloe," a voice from his left suggested. Eren turned to see the elderly woman eyeing him. "It can help with those injuries and it wards off negative energies."

Eren stammered for his reply. "Um, thanks, but I don't believe in that kind of stuff," he lied.

The stranger shrugged. "Something to consider."

Eren gulped and shuffled away to find a new cauldron. His eyes scanned over the cast iron supplies that were all crowded on a table in the center of the store. He chose one that could've fit in his palm, had the legs been nonexistent. He only wanted a small one until he could afford the larger one he desired. And it was easier to move around, so that was a plus. 

He took his purchases up to the old check out counter, oddly amused by its chipping turquoise and gold paint. While he waited for the owner to come to check him out, he admired the cash register that looked like a giant, brass typewriter.

"All set?" The brunette asked as she came to the counter.

"Yes," Eren politely replied. He gazed down at the little trinkets on the counter, meant for people who didn't practice the craft, but enjoyed the aesthetic or were intrigued to know more. A little wood box held smooth, flat stones with prints of animals on the faces. They looked like any cheap thing one could find at a highway rest stop, but his eye was caught by a stone made out of jet with a gold cat painted on the face. It reminded him of his animal familiar, Soot. Perhaps he could use it as a representation for her on his altar. "Actually... I'll get this too." He set the stone before the woman.

She gave him a knowing smile as she rung up his items. "Jet. That's a good choice. Do you have a spiritual connection with cats or do you just like 'em?"

Eren flinched at her comment. "I... have a cat. It reminds me of her."

The woman noticed his apprehension on the subject of spirituality, so she avoided it. But she wasn't fooled. "Aw, what's its name?"

"Soot," Eren answered happily. "She's a grey short hair."

"I guess the name is pretty fitting," she commented. "I personally love cats." She wrapped Eren's cauldron in a brown paper bag and put Eren's herbs in jars. Then she carefully wrapped his jet stone, placing each item into a larger paper bag. 

Eren handed her his payment, to which she accepted and handed him his change. She was just about to hand him his purchases, but halted, staring at his bandages. Eren panicked when he saw her invasive eyes. "Um... I had an accident in the kitchen," he quipped. "Gas stoves are a pain."

The woman nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I've been there myself." While delaying giving him his items, she turned around and stood to the wall of drawers behind her. She hesitated only for a moment, before she pulled out a drawer, plucking out a single item too tiny for Eren to make out. 

She came back and offered him what she had picked. Eren felt the object hit his hand and inspected it with a raised brow. "An acorn?"

"Protects against harm. Internal and external," she provided, glancing at his white wrapped hand. 

Eren took it, not wanting to be rude, but also grateful for the tip. "How much?"

"Free of charge." The woman stuck out her hand. "I'm Sasha, and you are... ?"

Eren tentatively took her hand. "I'm Eren."

"Eren... I've noticed that you've become a regular. I hope you feel welcome here." When their hands separated, she gave him his items. "Good luck."

"Uh... thanks." He gave her an unsure smile and walked out without looking too rushed. 

 

~

 

That night, he laid on his sofa, stroking Soot's fur while watching a documentary about the Salem witch trials. He was exhausted and it was the only thing on, so he figured, why not? Every so often, when there was a more brutal reenactment of an execution, he'd cover Soot's eyes. "I don't want you getting any ideas," he'd say. "Papa's a good witch, and people don't do that anymore."

He sighed when the burnings started. "Isn't it funny, Soot?" He mumbled. "I think it's funny. They used to kill us with what we now use to cast our spells. Or, with what I use anyway." Soot was a great listener. She'd mew frequently as Eren talked, which made him feel like she was humming in agreement. "Papa got a representation for you for his altar today." Purring followed. "Does that make you happy? Now when you're too hyped up to be in my rituals, I'll still have you there. Metaphorically of course." 

Before long, the credits were rolling on the screen and Soot fell asleep. "Bedtime, huh?" He picked her up and brought her to his room, setting her on his bed. Gently, he placed his jet stone beneath her stomach, so that her energy would fuze with it. 

As tired as his feline was, he was not ready for sleep. He walked past his altar and used his key necklace to open his cupboard. Pulling out a tattered book, he locked it back up again and traversed the floor over to the other side of the room to where his devotional shrine was. He sat down cross legged in front of the foot stool that he'd turned into makeshift shrine that held framed pictures, dried flowers and old necklaces. He opened the book and flicked through the pages, skimming through the fluid handwriting, checking correspondences, searching for a certain page.

At last, he found the index of herbs and their purposes. Acorns were nowhere to be found. He hadn't expected to find them, but he was constantly finding things in that precious book that he hadn't seen before. Even after years of owning it.

"The lady who owns that new age store gave me an acorn today," he said. "Her name is Sasha, she said it was for protection. But it looks like you never wrote anything about acorns, did you?" He looked at the framed photo in the center with a bright smile.

"No, only things to burn. Or add to fire," he hummed, turning the page. "Today... I put gasoline in my cauldron," he chuckled. "You can imagine what happened. It was pretty bad. But I'm fine." Another page turned. "I should've stuck to your instructions. You have the best ways of doing things."

He set down the book on his shrine and pointed to Soot. "I bought a stone today. My first one. It has a cat painted on it, I thought I could use it to represent my cat." The silence he received suddenly weighed on his shoulders. He tried to shake it, the quietness hadn't been felt for months. His lip trembled as he spoke. "You remember my cat, Soot? I told you about her awhile ago." He sniffled at the lack of response. "She's doing fine. She helps out during my rituals— well, as much as a cat can help out. Mostly she just sleeps within the circle. Heh," he huffed out a humorless laugh. "I cast my circle just like you used to." He held up the book again, as if to show the picture. "I... forgot a few steps, it's been so long... but your book helped. Thanks for giving it to me. I use it all the time." 

He tossed a look over his shoulder to check the clock on his wall. "It's late. I'll be going to bed now." He reached around the framed photo and softly grabbed the urn that hid behind it. He kissed the lid and put it back. "Goodnight ma, I love you."

 

~

 

"Back so soon?" Sasha teased as Eren walked through the door, seeming rather grumpy. She guessed it was because of whatever was under the patch on his cheek.

"Uh yeah," he replied. "I'm here to get some aloe. Do you sell that?"

Sasha snickered. "Oh trust me, there's not much we don't sell." She stood from her couch and walked over to a beaded curtain that led elsewhere. Eren assumed it was up a flight of stairs after hearing her sudden heavy steps. 

He looked around in her absence, gazing at nothing in particular. His eyes landed on the bookshelf in the far corner. Squinting, he read a few of the spines, only mildly curious as to what they were. 

His heart skipped a beat when he noticed the title of one on the top shelf. 'Flame Incantations.' Eren looked back to the beaded curtain and determined that she wouldn't be back so soon. His feet were moving closer to the shelf before he realized, and his hand reached out to take down the book. 

The book was hard covered and looked newly printed. It wasn't even two hundred pages, but it's contents could hold so much. Something about this book both excited and shook him. With one more fleeting glance over his shoulder, he opened to a random page. He read the words at the top of the page over and over. 'Divination Using Candles.'

Skimming through various pages, he read what the book would entail, and the further he went, the more intrigued he became. All kinds of spells and rituals that he had never heard of laid beneath his fingertips. He even stumbled across spells he already knew, but the instructions differed from how he performed them.

And that's when he shut the book tight. 'No,' he thought to himself. 'Everything I need is in my mother's grimoire. That's all I need. That's the way I'll do things, just like she did.' He observed the book that suddenly weighed heavily in his hands. It now felt so wrong to be holding it.

"Having a good read?"

Eren jumped in his spot, nearly dropping the offensive book. He held a hand over his heart and looked behind him. Sasha stood with a tray of potted aloe plants in her hands. "No," he said firmly, putting the book back to where it belonged. 

Sasha raised a questioning eyebrow, but didn't comment on his actions. "This is our selection of aloe. Take your pick, prices are on the pots."

Eren hastily picked out his plant and walked with Sasha over to the counter. As usual, he inspected the things placed there while she rung up his purchase. He became entranced with an unfamiliar item he saw that sat next to the cash register. It seemed to be some sort of chalice, made from pewter and encrusted with several stones. 

"I see you're eyeing my new offering chalice," Sasha beamed. This was her chance. 

"N-no, I didn't mean to stare—"

"You're okay," she cut him off. "I got it last night. It was a gift from my fiancé."

"Was it?" Eren asked, trying to contribute in the friendly conversation.

"Mhm. Last night..." Sasha watched him as she spoke. "He told me that he is a party witch. And he wanted me to have this as a thank you for accepting his lifestyle."

"A... party witch?" Eren repeated.

"Yes, it's not as silly as it sounds," She assured him. "Though, my fiancé is quite the character. But a party witch is a witch who cast their spells by using celebratory energy. According to him, it's very rewarding and successful."

"Oh, that's... interesting." Panic bubbled up in Eren's chest. What was she getting at?

"Of course that's not something I think I would try. I'm more of a kitchen witch." She winked at him. "I enjoy what I do, but if I want to lose those few extra pounds, I need to cut down on the full moon cake and ritual bread, am I right? Not that a few extra pounds are bad, though." She tried getting Eren to open up and make him more comfortable with the topic. "Isn't it amazing? All the different kinds of magick people practice? I'm always interested to hear how other people practice."

"Yeah," Eren said awkwardly. "It's, uh, really interesting." She seemed to be sincere in her interest and seemed nice enough to share information with, but he was still slightly apprehensive. "Do you know a lot of witches?"

Sasha chortled. "'Do I know a lot of witches?' Of course I do! Many of my friends are witches. I'm even in a coven, and we have plenty of members."

Eren offered his payment, but was now too intrigued to end their conversation. "You're in a coven? What's it like?"

"It's wonderful," Sasha declared. "We have a very special coven. We take in witches who specialize in specific areas of magick, so that we have a variety and have more inclusive rituals. And with differing paths, we can channel all sorts of energies and be more successful in our craft. We're like family, we get together, have fun, have group rituals. Being a solitary witch is great, but the spiritual satisfaction that comes with being in a coven is very unique."

Eren was in awe. It sounded like a once in a lifetime chance to be a part of a coven. He would've loved to ask how to get in. He specialized in fire magick, they might've accepted him. However, he had no idea what to expect. He didn't know how they would take someone who wasn't skilled in their area of expertise. 

"It sounds nice," he murmured. 

"It is. Are you solitary?" She inquired.

Eren took a moment to respond. "I guess I am."

"If I may ask, how do you practice?" Sasha leaned her elbows on the counter, waiting for him to reply. "Is there a specific type of magick you do?"

Eren found that it was easier to talk about this than he thought. "I'm a fire witch," he stated proudly. "That's the magick my mother used to use, so I'm carrying on the tradition."

Sasha seemed elated to hear that. "That's terrific! How long have you been in the craft?"

He shrunk into himself. "A few years. But I'm still a novice, I'm not very good at it."

She chuckled. "Everyone's a novice."

Eren cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

"We're all new," she said. "It doesn't matter how long you've been practicing, there will always be new things to learn, spells that are unsuccessful, ways to improve. Even if you've been in the craft for... sixty years, there's much to learn. What matters is whether or not you keep pursuing the craft and if you have the will and initiative to keep learning." She handed him his purchase. "Fire witch, huh? I hope to see you here again soon."

Eren took the bag she'd handed him. "Thanks..." He breathed through a growing grin. "I'll have to see what I need next. Thank you for the talk."

Sasha simpered happily. "Any time. Good luck!"

He thanked her one last time and left, beginning his trek back home.

 

~

 

Weeks later, he reclined on his couch, lazily dragging a cat toy back and forth, playing with Soot. "What do you think, you little rascal?" He hummed. "Should I ask her about joining the coven?"

Soot only chased the jingling bundle of fake feathers instead of giving him a useful answer. "I don't know any other witches. It'd be nice to make friends who share the same interest. But... I don't know if I'd belong there. What do I do?"

Eren didn't have many people in his life. For the longest time, he believed that Soot was all he needed. The only family he had left was his father, who never tried reaching out to him or even return a phone call, and his grandparents, who all lived out of state. After his mother's unfortunate death, he closed himself off, consequently breaking off many friendships unintentionally, but up until recently, he hadn't minded being a recluse. He thought he had enough human contact from curt conversations he had with strangers while out shopping and with people he worked with. But as the years passed along, he started craving interaction more and more. He didn't want much. Just a consistent acquaintance; one that didn't need to walk on all fours. And it seemed like the coven was his best and most fun option, though he wasn't sure if joining was going to be a simple task. 

Eventually, Soot became bored with the toy and sat still, cleaning her paws. "You won't leave me though, right? You're still my best buddy?"

Soot paused with her grooming, sniffing around on the ground, before she went sprinting off to Eren's bedroom. He frowned, disappointed. "Rude."

 

~

 

"Hey ma," Eren whispered, sitting in front of his shrine. "I need some of your insight, you've always been so smart." He stared at the silent photo before continuing. "Do you remember how I told you that Sasha was part of a coven? Well... I want to join. I know you've never been in one, you do things by yourself. But... it's been awhile since... you know. And I haven't been talking with people like you remember when you were still here. It's been a long time. Six years. God, it doesn't feel like it's been that long yet." He rubbed at his eyes with the heel of his hand.

"I've been doing fine. But I don't think you'd want me to go on without having other people in my life. It's been hard because... you were my favorite. My favorite person. And it's like no one can live up to that. But, I thought maybe I can make a few friends in this coven. I just need you to tell me what to do," he begged. "If you can... give me a sign. Tell me what I should do." He let out a shaky breath and looked to his side where he felt a wet nose rubbing against his hand. He smiled and pet Soot, who leaned into his touch and meowed affectionately. "Soot, says hello too. Goodnight ma, I love you."

Eren picked up Soot and settled into bed. "Go to sleep, baby," he reminded his cat. "It's too late at night to play."

 

~

 

Eren went to start his breakfast as he normally would, mixing the ingredients to make pancakes with Soot mewing at his feet. "Hush up, papa already gave you food. Let me cook, you greedy little imp." He used his foot to lightly nudge her in another direction. He felt particularly agitated that day, having all his conflicting emotions bounce around in his head. It was boring carrying on like normal when he could be out meeting people and trying new things.

As he finished mixing the ingredients, he groaned, having forgotten to turn on his gas stove to let the pan heat up. As he went to click the dial to turn on the gas, he began muttering to himself. "I should forget it, I'm never gonna join that coven." He turned the dial to start the flame, but nothing happened.

He frowned and turned it off again before clicking it back. No flames. "Come on," he mumbled. He gave up on that part of the stove and moved to the other side. Upon clicking it on, he heard a hissing sound from the stove, followed by a burst of fire spitting out towards him.

Eren shrieked, falling backwards. He promptly landed on his rear, looking back up at the stove. He cautiously stood up and looked at the surface to see no abnormalities as the flame stayed where it belonged. Turning it off, he inspected it more closely, trying to find the cause of the outburst. Nothing seemed to be wrong, and he tried thinking of what he might've done to have triggered such an odd malfunction. 

He felt silly for even considering the conclusion he came up with. He softly set his hand on the dial of the first end that he tried. "I should join the coven," he said monotonously. He clicked it and the flame had returned as normal. He sighed, shutting it off. "I shouldn't join the coven." On again, but no flames. Off. "I should join the coven." On, and with thriving flames.

He shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked up to the ceiling with a frown. "Thanks ma, real subtle."

 

~

 

Eren loitered around Wings of Visions, waiting until the last customer aside from him had left. He watched as Sasha offered a high strung teen a soothing incense, wishing her luck as she took what she had bought and left. "Eren," Sasha greeted him. "Do you need help finding something?"

"No, actually..." He began, stepping towards the counter at a snails pace. "I wanted to talk to you about your coven. If that's okay." 

"That's more than okay," Sasha said. "What would you like to know?"

"A few things," Eren began, scratching at the back of his neck. "First, what exactly do you guys do?"

"Well, mostly, we get together and have group rituals for the full moons, solstices and Equinoxes. Aside from doing rituals, we simply celebrate those times of the year or month. Other times, we can call group meetings when one of them members needs all the help they can get with a certain issue they've been having. For example, one of our members, Erwin, went through a really nasty divorce, so we each did a little spell for him. And we may have also brought him a lot of wine and sweet bread to aid with the grieving." Sasha chuckled at the memory. "We also just do celebratory meetings, like when I got engaged, or when another member, Hanji, hit a milestone birthday. We never have a strict routine, it can be very spontaneous."

Eren liked the sound of that. The desperate part of him was interested in the group aid meetings. He would love to have one of those when his mother's absence became too much for him. The rest all seemed like an incredible new experience that would kill him if he missed out on it. "That sounds... nice. What do people have to do to get in?" He asked quietly, hoping he didn't seem invasive.

Sasha smiled at him with a funny look in her eyes. "Not much. All we ask is that you specialize in one type of magick that no one else in the coven already practices, and you must follow our rules. Our rules are very straightforward. Be respectful. Be polite. And we don't allow anyone in who holds any type of prejudice or hatred for a certain group. No racists, ableists, sexists, homophobic people, xenophobic people, anyone like that. Same goes for religions, you don't need to practice a certain one, just be respectful of others. We have people who practice many things. I'm Wiccan, A girl named Christa is Jewish, We have a Christian member, an atheist or two. We just ask that no one acts elitist or puts anyone down. Oh! And we don't allow practices from closed cultures unless you're a part of that culture. That's all."

Eren pondered over her words. He fit. The only issue weighing in his mind was that even though he felt comfortable practicing alone, he wasn't sure if his skill set was on the same level of the others. Or if his way of doing things would be accepted by the others. "How experienced do people have to be?"

"You could've started yesterday and we'd let you in," Sasha answered. "And if you are new, we could teach you things and give you tips." Her excited expression never dulled, she only waited for him to ask the big question.

"I see," Eren mumbled. As easy as she made it seem, he still didn't feel qualified somehow. "Well... thank you for your time." He nodded curtly as he turned on his heel to leave.

Sasha sighed while she watched him go. "Eren!" She called, grabbing his attention. "Friday night."

Eren looked at her, puzzled. "I'm sorry?"

"Friday night is the next full moon and therefore the next meeting. If you'd like to drop in and watch, just to see how you like it, no one will have a problem with it," she elaborated. "You don't have to join in on the ritual if you don't want to. If you end up liking it, you can join. If not, then you're under no pressure. Just... give it a thought. If you want to come, wait outside the shop Friday night at ten. That's when we meet."

Eren felt a pang of anxiety hit him in the chest, but that didn't change the fact that he'd give her an honest response. "I'll think about it."

 

~

 

"I should've thought about this more," Eren whispered to himself. He looked at his messenger bag, frowning at its emptiness. Did he need to bring anything? He considered bringing his mother's grimoire, but it was too precious. He had to keep it safe in his cupboard. Instead, he filled his bag with his college ruled notebook that had a list of his successful rituals and spells, and his phone. They were the only things that he thought made sense for him to bring.

Eren wanted to make a good first impression, so he wore his scarlet vest, a black button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and his charcoal jeans. Of course, he kept his key necklace, his painted fingers and he added a black fedora, hoping it wasn't too over the top. He tossed a look at Soot, who was sleeping in a seemingly uncomfortable position on the window sill. There was no sense in waking her, so he left and started his trek to Wings of Visions.

The streets felt so comforting at night with the stillness that came. No wind or cold element existed on that summer evening, which made Eren happy and soothed his nerves. The dead silence helped him keep a clear mind as he walked down the sidewalk and came close to his destination. 

As he approached the building, he saw another figure coming his way. Their pale skin combatted the dark environment, nearly matching the moon that shined in all its glory. Their hair was as dark as crow feathers, matching their flowing jacket that nearly reached the ground. Beneath it laid a sleeveless, grey turtleneck and black pants that clung to the strangers legs. Eren would've loved to see what their eyes looked like, but they were hidden behind dark, circular lenses. He thought it was odd to wear them at night. The stranger's boots clicked on the pavement and disappeared into the very same shop that he was heading for. Had Eren been more attentive and less distracted, he would've noticed their key that allowed their entrance.

The door clicked shut as the stranger went inside, not taking notice of Eren. Eren shook the door handle once he had reached the entrance, not being able to budge it. He groaned, frustrated with his luck. Sasha told him nothing about needing a key, was he just supposed to stand there and wait to be let in? 

Five minutes of feeling like a fool, standing around in the dark, and Eren finally saw a glimmer of hope. A small flame inching towards the door had caught his eye through the window. When it got close enough, he could see the body of the person holding it, just barely being lit. 

Sasha opened the door for him, holding her candle out of the way, sending him a bright smile and nodding towards the inside. "Come on in, everyone is here."

Eren walked past her and into the shop, waiting for her to lead the way. The store had a much different mood at night when it was darkened. 

"Follow me," Sasha instructed, walking through the beaded curtain and ascending creaking stairs. With every screech of the steps beneath his feet, Eren grew more and more anxious. He could hear the dull murmur of the people above and he tried convincing himself that he was ready. 

"They're going to love you!" Sasha assured him as they reached the top. 

"I hope so..." Eren mumbled as she opened the door.

Eren was instantly hit with the smell of sweet spices as he walked through the threshold. The scent was so strong and so inviting, that alone would motivate him to stay. Now that he could see properly, he noticed Sasha was wearing an orange tank top with a purple handkerchief skirt. She looked so comfortable, like always, but Eren's eyes couldn't focus on her for long, as the rest of the room was now looking at him. Sasha walked ahead, but Eren stayed rooted to his spot. 

The room was a lot larger than he anticipated, but it was absolutely marvelous. The dark wood floors, the dried plants hanging on the walls, the abundant candles, lit and sitting in every corner, the tables covered in beautifully dyed cloths, glass cabinets holding various glimmering items, markings of white on the ground; it was like a dream. 

Of course, the sensation didn't last long when Eren looked in the eyes of all the strangers. Even though they seemed as welcoming as they could be. All the polite simpers and cheerful hello's didn't help him ease up one bit. 

"Everyone," Sasha spoke. "This is Eren, he's a very sweet customer of mine. He's interested in joining, but hasn't made his decision. So, he'll be joining us for tonight to observe and see how he likes it."

Understanding hums went throughout the room, a few people waved, and Eren decided that the worst part was over. 

"Would you like me to introduce you to everyone?" Sasha asked him gently.

"Yeah," he breathed. "If everyone's alright with that."

"Of course they are!" She promised him. She motioned him over to the nearest person to them, who happened to be a shorter man with a shaved head, looking ecstatic to see Eren. "This is my fiancé that I told you about," Sasha introduced him. "Connie."

Connie threw one arm around Sasha's shoulders and stuck out his free hand to give Eren a vigorous handshake. Afterwards, he tried slapping Eren's hand, curling his own hand into a fist in an attempt to do some odd handshake or fist bump that Eren wasn't familiar with. The brunet couldn't help but laugh. Connie ended it with a snap of the fingers, drawing his arm back. "Nice to meet ya," he said. "The coven is pretty chill, so you don't have to be nervous or anything."

"It's nice to meet you too," Eren responded. "I'm only nervous because I don't really know what to expect."

"You'll be alright, we're all pretty accepting. We'll take things easy so you can get a feel of what we do."

Sasha scoffed. "He says that like he's been in the coven forever. He's our newest member." She rolled her eyes at him, making him shrug guiltily. 

Eren chuckled as the two parted and Sasha led him away to the others. 

The next couple they stopped at consisted of a blond woman sitting in the corner, wearing a white blouse and a pink, ruffled skirt. Next to her was a taller, tan, freckled woman with brown hair pulled back, wearing a striped shirt and cargo shorts. 

"This is Christa and her girlfriend Ymir," Sasha said. "Christa practices sun magick and Ymir is a divination witch." 

"Hi, Eren!" Christa waved cheerfully at him.

Ymir seemed less enthusiastic, but not rude. "Hey."

"Uh, hi," Eren greeted them. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly does a divination witch do?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Ymir answered. "I make predictions using all sorts of formats. Tarot cards, astral alignments, palm readings, you name it."

"That's so cool," Eren breathed.

"Thanks."

So far Eren was loving how the coven was turning out. People seemed to be very welcoming towards him.

Sasha took him to see three others who were sitting down at one of the tables. A woman with blond hair in a bun, wearing an umpteen amount of crystals and minerals for jewelry sat, wrapping wire around a stone as the other two watched. 

"This is Annie, she's a crystal witch."

Annie hummed in acknowledgment, but otherwise did not deviate from her work.

Next, Sasha gestured to a man dressed in a dress shirt and tie with long blond hair. "This is Armin, he is an ocean witch. And a very skilled one at that."

Armin offered Eren a handshake, though it was far more formal than the one he'd received from Connie. "Welcome, I hope you consider joining."

Eren shrugged. "Thanks, I guess we'll have to see."

After they'd exchanged greetings, Sasha introduced him to the last person in the group, a woman with beautiful grey slitted eyes, and ebony hair, who wore a red scarf and a knitted sweater. "And this," Sasha beamed. "Is our high priestess. This is Mikasa, and she's a knotting or weaving witch."

Mikasa nodded at him, sending him a warm smile. "It's nice to meet you, Eren. Sasha told me a little bit about you, I hope you enjoy yourself tonight."

"Thanks..." Eren felt slightly intimidated. "You're the high priestess?"

"Yes sir," Mikasa answered. "But don't worry, I just organize things and plan everything out. I don't view myself as the superior of the coven. We're all equals here."

"Oh okay," Eren replied, relieved. He turned to look at Annie's work. She seemed nearly done wrapping the white, reflective stone. "What's that for? I-if I may ask."

Annie answered without looking up. "I'm making it for Mikasa. She wanted a little something to help with her transitioning."

That intrigued Eren. "Oh, what kind of transitioning?"

"The gender kind," Mikasa giggled.

"Selenite," Annie stated. "It has a water energy and draws from the moon, and enhances feminine qualities. Useful for trans females if they want it."

Eren nodded in understanding. "Why are you wiring it?"

"Putting it on a cord so she can wear it as a necklace." Annie finally paused her actions, looking up at Eren. "You want one?"

"O-oh, no... no thank you, I was just curious."

"Suit yourself," Annie mumbled, finishing up the cord. 

Sasha took him all throughout the room, introducing him to each and every member, all of which seemed very happy to meet him. Bertolt was a very shy, but very polite man, who stood taller than most on the room. He was a hoodoo witch, Sasha explained to him. Hoodoo, as she told Eren, was a form of magic that originated in west Africa, which was where Bertolt's father was from. A younger girl named Isabel, with big eyes and bright red hair, practiced animal magic and was filled with energy. Farlan, a friend of hers, was a Christian witch and involved his religion with his practice. Eren was nervous when meeting Erwin, as he was told that the blond man was a death witch. He was however comforted when he found out that that only meant he borrowed grave dirt and casted spells with the aid of bones that he found on walks. Jean, a man with ash brown hair and an undercut, seemed a bit arrogant, but was nice enough. He was a wind witch and seemed very knowledgeable in his practice. Hanji was a bespectacled science witch, with messy hair and a loud, colorful outfit. Eren didn't think anyone else in the coven was as eccentric as they were. Eren was fascinated by a mustached man named Mike, who towered over everyone. He practiced scent magick, using the aroma of incense and candles for his spell work. Marco, a moon witch, had been a very kind man, who had a nearly blinding smile as he welcomed Eren. Reiner seemed a bit out of place with how muscular he was and how sloppily he dressed, but who was Eren to judge? It fascinated him that he identified as an athletic witch, drawing energy from physical exertion. Petra was a lovely lady, who treated Eren kindly. He'd expected to meet a green witch at some point in the night, someone who used strictly plants in their craft. And Petra happened to be that person.

"That's everyone!" Sasha announced. 

Eren looked around at everyone he'd met when his eyes landed on a figure standing in a shadowed corner. "Then who's that?"

Sasha looked over her shoulder with a quirked brow. "Hm? Oh! Oh my gosh, he always does that. Always stays where he blends in." She chuckled. "Sorry, Eren, I must've walked right past him, let's go see him."

They weaved their way through the group, working to get to the opposite side of the room. Eventually, they reached the corner that held no candles to light up the space. "Eren," Sasha began. "Meet Levi, he's a storm witch."

It was the person Eren had seen earlier who'd entered just before he did. This time, his glasses were removed and Eren could see his silver eyes that appeared to look right through him. "Hi." Eren was the first to break the silence.

"Hey." Levi looked him up and down, observing every inch of him. 

It seemed like that was the only response Eren would be getting, but he didn't know how to keep the conversation going, so he looked to Sasha for help. 

"Levi's a man of few words," she chortled. "Come on, let's go get you some ceremony bread." 

She ushered him away as he looked back over his shoulder to see Levi never breaking eye contact with him. He faced forward, feeling his forehead begin to sweat. 

 

~

 

Eren stayed near Sasha, having known her the best. At one point everyone crowded into the center and engaged in idle chatter before they were silenced and started looking at Eren with interest. He shrunk into himself, taking a bite out of his bread, heart racing as he sat under the stares.

"Eren," Petra called. "I don't believe you ever told us, what kind of witch are you?"

Eren straightened up and cleared his throat. "I'm a fire witch."

Nods and engaged hums went around the group. He didn't expect everyone to be so fascinated.

"How did you get into the craft?" Marco asked.

Eren tried repressing the pain that weighed in his chest in favor of remembering his initiation fondly. "Well... I wouldn't practice if it wasn't for my mom." 

'Awws' and grins were passed around, though they hadn't known what the full story was.

"She was a fire witch," he went on. "A really good one. When I was a kid, she told me about what she did and as I got older, I asked her about it. She told me how she did things and she let me watch whenever she performed a ritual." He smiled at the memory. "I didn't ever practice alongside her, before..." He trailed off, not wanting to get into the details. "Then... I started practicing five or six years ago. But I'm nowhere near as good or as successful as she was. Though, I try to practice the same way she did."

Intrigued hums and smiles came from all directions of the group. Since he spoke of her in past tense, everyone got the message and didn't bring it up, which made him feel off. No one ever asked what happened to her when he talked about her. They only ever said their condolences and changed the subject. Sometimes it would make his stomach turn. Sure, it hurt to think about how she spent her last moments of her life, but for people to try to stop talking or thinking about her as soon as the opportunity arose, it made him feel like they didn't care about her. Which of course he knew wasn't true, but that's how it felt.

"Since you're a fire witch, would you like to start off our full moon ritual by doing something with the candles? Or incense perhaps?" Hanji offered. "You know, just to try it out."

Eren shook his head. "No thank you, I don't always have the best control over my spells. And I'm not overly experienced, I'll just watch for now."

"No amount of experience is required," Mikasa pointed out. "It could be your first time testing out a new technique and we'd be fine with it. But, we won't make you participate or do any work that you're uncomfortable with."

Eren smiled gratefully at her, appreciative that she had given him full power to make a decision rather than suggesting what he should do. He liked that. "I'll stick with watching, I think."

"Very well," Mikasa replied. "Alright everyone, let's get things set up!"

 

~

 

Eren watched as the seemingly synchronized ritual took place, conducting like spiritual ballet. Mikasa casted the circle, tying knots out of small ribbons and setting them on the ground, muttering an inaudible chant. Marco then took an athame and cleansed each person by tapping the dulled blade on their shoulders, drawing in the energy of the moon that he worked with so skillfully. Annie set pieces of moonstone and selenite around the circle to bring in more energy from the moon. And that was when the ritual began. 

Eren couldn't decide on what to watch, Isabel who was saying the blessing for the ritual, or Levi, who looked more serene and more ethereal than anyone else within the circle. They all stood in the circle, channeling peace, but something about that man shrouded in alluring shadows was taking in every bit of attention Eren held without him having to do anything. He could've sworn that Levi had snuck in glances whenever he could, but he wasn't positive.

Before he knew it the ritual was over, and Mikasa was untying each knot, taking down the circle. He regretted not paying more attention, but he couldn't help it. Afterwards, when everything was taken down, people found their own little groups and started conversing calmly like they were at a family gathering.

 

~

 

Eren sat silently with Sasha, Annie and Ymir as they all talked about the full moon and their personal practices. Sasha let the other two break off into conversation as she addressed Eren. "Are you of age?"

"Wait, what?" Eren asked.

"Drinking age?" She elaborated.

"Oh... yeah, I am."

"Would you like some wine if you're not driving anywhere tonight?"

Eren wouldn't be driving anywhere, only walking back to his apartment. "Uh, sure, why not?" He shrugged.

"I'll be right back," Sasha said as she stood to go and retrieve the wine.

In her absence, Ymir and Annie stopped chatting and began staring at Eren. He looked right back at them in curiosity as they all remained silent. Ymir looked pensive, before she dug around in her pocket, fishing out a velvet, drawstring bag. Opening it up, she took out a deck of glossy cards and handed them over to Eren. "Shuffle these, will you?"

Eren hesitantly took them and did as she said, her and Annie watching all the while. "How much should I shuffle them?"

"Until you think it's good enough," Ymir answered. "Shuffle however you like."

Eren complied, sloppily slitting the cards between each other and having difficulties with fitting them in his hands, as they were an abnormally large size. After a minute or two of shuffling, he handed them back with his intrigue peaked. 

Ymir took them back and shuffled them much more skillfully and rapidly, then placed the deck back in front of him. "Separate it into three piles. They don't have to be even."

Eren did as asked and set out three messy piles. Ymir plucked several from each pile, spreading them out into some sort of structure. She looked them over for a moment, glancing at him every so often. "I'm sorry about your loss."

"What?" Eren asked.

"You really loved your mom, didn't you?"

Eren gulped. "I did."

Ymir nodded, looking back at the spread. "You need to get out and get shit done, you know what I mean?" She said, gesturing to the middle line of cards. Eren was caught off guard. "What are you doing with your life, man? There's stuff you want to do, do it. Stop sitting at home with your lazy cat."

"She's not lazy," Eren defended. As the words left his mouth, he realized what she had just said and became a little nervous over the fact that she somehow knew about his cat. 

"Mhm," she hummed sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Alright, far future... thank the lord, you're actually gonna do something with your sad little life."

"Hey!" Eren barked.

Ymir held up her hand. "Shush, that's a compliment. It looks like you're going to be real happy down the line."

Eren may have still felt slightly offended, but he was also somewhat grateful for the heads up.

A smirk formed into her lips. She pointed to one to the right of her. "The lovers card," she stated in a sing-song voice. "It's in the near future portion of your spread. Lucky you, according to the other cards, it's going to be significant for a very long time." Eren's cheeks reddened quickly before she continued. "Hmm... interesting. Are you bi or something?"

Eren spluttered, trying to get out his answer. He wasn't embarrassed or ashamed, but he couldn't believe she'd figured it out by tarot cards. "How'd you come up with that?"

"It's just that your past cards show brief confusion, along with a female connection in relation to your love life. But your future cards show steadiness with a man." She winked.

"H-how can you tell all that?"

"Years of studying," she explained while reclining in her seat. "That, and I had you shuffle to get your personal energy into the cards. The cards can get borderline bitchy, but when I'm the one doing the reading, they're almost never wrong. Not to stroke my own ego or anything."

"She's right," Annie commented. "It's incredible how accurate her readings are."

Eren stared at Ymir skeptically before giving in. "... What else do they say?"

Ymir grinned, leaning up to read the cards again. "You're hiding a lot of things at the moment. You gotta let it all out, or it'll keep hurting. Stop trying to be so strong." She shifted over to the future cards once more. She snorted, then tried to cover up her falter. Eren furrowed his eyebrows at her, wondering what was so funny. "Sorry. I'd tell you what I just saw, but there are other people here and I don't think you want me saying such... personal things about your love life in front of them—"

"Okay, okay!" Eren rushed to scatter the cards before she could go on. "That's enough for now."

Ymir and Annie started giggling at his embarrassment. "Maybe if you come to another coven meeting, I can give you another reading. Perhaps by looking at your palm instead."

Eren calmed down a bit, thinking over her words. Things weren't going too bad, maybe he would join the coven officially. He felt so welcomed by everyone, albeit a bit violated when Ymir looked into his personal life. Aside from that, things were actually quite nice there. 

Sasha returned with a tray of chalices and a bottle of wine. She set out some for all for of them and poured their drinks. "Did I miss anything?"

Annie was the one to answer. "Just that in the future, Eren's going to get the —"

"Nothing," Eren interrupted sharply. "You missed absolutely nothing."

Sasha regarded them confusedly but shrugged it off. 

"What's Eren's star sign?" Annie asked Ymir.

"Aries," she replied without hesitation.

Eren pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, deciding that he may never let Ymir do a reading for him again.

Annie hummed, bending to get side to pick of a briefcase from off the ground and set it gently on the table. She clicked it open and held out her hand in front of Eren. "Let me see your hand."

"You're not going to read my palm, are you?"

"No, just let me see it." Eren did as asked once again, letting Annie inspect the lines, but busying herself more to feel his pulse, more concerned with his hand's shape and texture rather than what it looked like. "Alright, let me see what I've got," she murmured, looking back to her briefcase. From what Eren could see, it was filled a lol sorts of stones and crystals, all separated by type into little pockets or slots. He took a sip of his wine as he watched Annie scan its contents.

"Okay, I think this is what I want." She pulled out a glassy, deep red and orange stone, handing it to Eren. "You need this, you can have it, just in case this is your last meeting. I want you to leave with a little something."

Eren looked it over, running his thumb along the smooth surface. "What is it?"

"Fire agate. It's the stone of Aries," she said. "This will help you out with so much stuff. It lends courage, offers protection, helps you find a resolution to your problems, and since it's a fire element stone, it aids in improving sexual activ—"

"Can we move past that conversation?" He cut her off, his voice cracking and his hand moving to awkwardly scratch the back of his neck. "Please?"

The other three chuckled. "Sure," Annie sighed. "My point is, this seems like the perfect stone for you."

After moving on from the uncomfortable topic, Eren eased up and sent her an appreciative smile. "Thank you."

 

~

 

The meeting was brought to a close near midnight. Eren was left with a nice buzz from the wine, though he was still completely coherent. 

"Did you have a nice time?" Sasha asked him, smiling and biting her lip with anticipation. 

Eren smiled back. "I had a really good time. I... I think I'd like to join. I just want a day or two to think it over."

Sasha clapped her hands together. "That's wonderful! I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself. There's no rush for you to think it over, take all the time in the world. But if you do decide to join, just come on down to the shop and let me know, so we can plan a proper celebration for you."

"Thank you so much. For everything."

"You're welcome."

Sasha led him back down to the shop's entrance and waved goodbye as he started his walk back home. He didn't make it very far before another voice was calling him. "Oi, you."

Eren stopped in his tracks and turned around to find Levi walking towards him. "Me?"

"Who else would I be talking to?" His voice, coming out like low fog sent shivers down Eren's spine. Eren shrugged, allowing him to continue. "Where are you going?"

"Home," Eren stated simply.

"Is it far?"

It was an exercise in futility for Eren to focus on his words and not his alluring eyes. "A bit, but I'm used to walking the distance."

Levi nodded curtly. "I'll be walking with you."

Eren quirked an eyebrow at him. "There's really no need—"

"You're not driving," Levi cut him off. "It's midnight, it's dark, and any witch should know that there's risk in everything. Especially when you're alone. What's the harm in a little precaution?"

Eren smirked at him. He could tell that he had other intentions, but he wasn't the type to comply so easily. "I think I can handle myself, thank you."

Levi scoffed amusedly. "Were you thinking that same thing when you burned your arms?"

"H-how did you...?"

"Sasha told me."

Eren had to admit, he liked the way he thought. There were other qualities he liked about the man, but he was not so ready to acknowledge them yet. "Fair enough. You can come along." He spun on his heel when he felt a firm grasp take hold of his bicep. He sent Levi a look, entranced by his still and confident hand.

"Lead the way," was all Levi said.

Eren smiled to himself, bending his arm so Levi could hang on properly. 

 

~

 

They traveled in silence for a few minutes before that fluid voice of Levi's had Eren at his mercy once more. "Why did you sit in on the coven?"

Eren shrugged. "I thought it would be nice to meet some people like me. I'm not the most social person... or at least, I haven't been for awhile. And I'd like to learn more about the craft."

Levi hummed in response. "Just don't like people or are non-witches unpleasant to you?" he teased. 

Eren huffed out an amused breath, though it lacked any genuine mirth. "I just... haven't felt the need to socialize in a long time."

"Why's that?"

Eren bit his lip. "I'd rather not discuss it..."

"Understood," Levi replied calmly. He was quick to change the subject. "Are you planning on returning for our next meeting?"

The brunet felt his lips tug upward. "Perhaps. I'd really love to join, but I need a couple days to make my final decision, you know?"

Levi nodded. "... I'd like it if you joined."

They both felt the heat subtly increase beneath their skin. The quietness between them had once been comfortable, but now it was itching at them to do something about it. Eren noticed the grip on his arm had tightened and he couldn't say that the firmness was unwelcome. 

"Then... I'll join," he decided.

"Hm, aren't you going to take a day or two to think it over?"

"No," Eren murmured. "I just realized how foolish it is to mull it over when I'm already anxious to go back." Levi smiled at that. "Can... can I ask you something?" A thought from earlier kept gnawing at the back of his mind. 

"Of course."

"Earlier, while I was walking to the shop, I saw you walk in. And you were wearing sunglasses. Why were you wearing them when it was already so dark out?"

Levi smirked, facing ahead. "Do you know what scrying is?"

Eren thought back for a moment. He'd heard of it, but there was nothing written about it in his mother's grimoire. "Not exactly."

"It's a form of divination. You use a reflective surface to find fortunes," he explained. "So, I use my glasses to do that. I find that it works best at night."

"Could you even see?" Eren chortled, fixing him with an intrigued look.

Levi glanced at him for a fleeting moment, lips still deviously stretched. "You'd be surprised by the things I could see."

Eren slowed his paced as they walked, staring calculatingly at Levi. "What did you see?"

Levi's eyes bore into Eren's. "No use in me telling you. You'll see it too."

Eren stared, eyebrows furrowed and his lips slightly parted. He shut his mouth when Levi quickened their pace again. Eren dreaded the fact that they had reached his apartment much too soon for his liking. "This is my stop," he muttered regretfully. Even worse, the absence of Levi's fingers on his arm weighed more heavily than his hand had.

"I suppose I'll see you at our next meeting?" 

"Yes, you can count on it," Eren promised. He wasn't willing to pass up the opportunity to see the man before him again.

"Good," Levi breathed, sticking out his hand. Eren didn't miss a beat in grabbing it to shake hands. The taller almost thought the action was taking a step back in their familiarity. "I'll see you there. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

All he could do was watch as the figure stalked away into the night. Remembering that Levi could look back at any moment, he hurried into his apartment building. He rushed up to his door and darted into his home, immediately leaning on the door and tilting his head back. He tried processing everything that had happened that night. It was marvelous, to put it shortly. 

His thoughts were interrupted when a persistent feline rubbed up against his shins and whined for attention. He smiled down at her. "Soot, you're not going to believe this."

 

~

 

Eren held a few herbs in his hand, ready to purchase them while he waited in line for the person in front of him to be finished checking out. It had been three days since the coven meeting. He'd meant to go the day after, but life obligations got in the way.

"Thank you, good luck!" Sasha said to her customer as they left. "Eren! You're back!"

"Yeah," he replied, walking up to set his herbs on the counter. "I gave it some thought... and I'd like to join the coven. That is, if you'll still accept me."

Sasha practically squealed at the news, clasping her hands together. "Of course we will! Oh my gosh, this is so exciting, I'll let everyone know. Will you be free this weekend?"

"I think so, yeah."

"Great, we can have your initiation on Friday or Saturday, you choose."

Eren pondered it over, thinking of his work schedule. "Friday would be best for me."

"Alright, Friday it is," Sasha confirmed, wrapping up his herbs. "Eren, I'm so excited for you, you'll love being in the coven. And everyone will be so happy to have you joining."

"Thanks," Eren said meekly, scratching the back of his ear. "What exactly do we do for initiations? Some type of ritual?"

"Other covens tend to do that, if that's what you want to do, then we will," she explained, packing up his purchases and calculating the total. "But that's not required. We basically just throw a party and offer you some items for prosperity."

"Your coven sounds so easy going compared to what I usually hear about other covens," Eren noted, handing her his payment.

"It really is," she agreed. "Our main goal is for everyone to feel welcome and have a place to safely practice. We aren't too concerned with blood binding rituals, punishment for betrayal, superiority, or any of that other nonsense people worry about. Covens shouldn't be stressful, they should be relaxing, welcoming."

"I agree," Eren said. 

 

~

 

Soot purred on Eren lap while he stroked her fur. It was only a day before he would be returning to the coven and he was just starting to have jitters over the idea. He'd spent plenty of time thinking about all the members and what the initiation would entail, but now he allowed his mind to wander off to that one individual who had escorted him home. He couldn't quite fathom why he was so drawn to the man, but in all honesty, he didn't mind. He just wanted to understand him and meet with him again. That would make him happy.

"What do you think Soot?" Eren hummed. "Do you think I should try to get to know Levi better?"

The content feline once again left him hanging as she hopped off his lap, sprinting to her food dish. She was screeching to be fed and waited patiently.

Eren frowned. "You're no help," he muttered, raising himself off the couch and waltzing over to her bowl. "There you go, you little piglet," he murmured, pouring her food. "Eat up."

He gave up on trying to draw answers from his familiar and went into his bedroom. He lit several candles and settled down on the carpet in front of his little shrine. Taking in a deep breath like every other time, he looked into the eyes of the picture of his mother. 

It was his favorite photo of her. When she still looked alive and well. The color was still in her cheeks and the light was present in her eyes. He remembered the day the photo was taken. His family had been taking a walk in the woods on a camping trip. The picture was taken right before they put out the campfire and she'd been smiling so brightly, adoring the beautiful flames and dazzling embers falling to the ground. But Eren couldn't care less about the surroundings, as the years added up, he treasured pictures more and more so his memory wouldn't blur. 

"Hey ma," he mumbled with a faint smile. "I'm going to that coven as a real member for the first time tomorrow. I'm a little nervous, but excited more than anything."

He dreaded the silence that came. Years ago, she'd say how happy she was for him, or she'd give him caution redundantly. He'd give anything to have either at that moment.

"There's a guy there that I can't stop thinking about too... I thought I'd tell you. There's just... something different about him. I know I should be more focused on the introduction into the coven, but he really stood out. And he walked me home. I know you'd be relieved knowing someone made sure I got home safely," he chuckled. "He's really interesting, his name is Levi. He practices storm magick. I wish you could meet him."

He looked into the flat eyes of the photo. He was grateful he had a few pictures where she looked so happy. It gave him the feeling that she was glad to be hearing about his life.

"I'll let you know how the meeting goes when I get home tomorrow. I love you." He took the urn, placing a kiss on the lid before returning it. He'd never drop that habit if he could help it.

 

~

 

Eren felt his chest fluttering with a mix of emotions as he approached the shop. So many things could happen that night, he had no idea what to expect. 

The air was brisk, but comfortable as he walked down the familiar streets. Though he'd been to a coven meeting before, this time, his journey held a new weight. By the end of the night, he'd be a member, and that knowledge alone gave him a rush of adrenaline. 

That adrenaline was then doubled as he spotted a figure that sent chills down his spine. He took in a sharp breath as their distance lessened and offered a smile when he was close enough. Levi vaguely simpered back and waited at the door with one hand on the door knob. "Welcome back," he murmured softly, opening the door for Eren.

"Thanks," Eren replied sheepishly while he walked in. 

The two silently made their way through the blackened shop and up the stairs. Levi led the way, having made this trip a million times over. "I'm glad you decided to join," Levi murmured, looking at Eren over his shoulder. 

Eren smirked at him. "Thank you, I'm happy to be a part of the coven."

Levi looked ahead once more before reaching the top of the stairs. "As are we." He opened the door, revealing the beaming coven members within. The familiar scent of spices flooded Eren's nostrils, and he couldn't have been happier to be back. 

"Eren!" The room chimed upon his entrance. He found himself smiling uncontrollably at the sight of everyone so gleeful at his arrival. 

"Hi everyone," he greeted them back. He noted Sasha standing from her chair and trotting over to meet with him. 

"So good to see you!" Sasha brought him into a brief hug. "I'm so glad you decided to join us. Tonight, we're going to be taking things easy. It's basically going to be a celebration, we'll perform a prosperity spell for you and then a few of the members have some things to give you. Right now, we're about to slice some dark mother bread and pass around wine, so pick a seat."

"Alright," Eren said, looking around for an empty space. Before he knew it, there was a light grasp on his bicep, gently tugging him along. He looked to find Levi leading him to the opposite side of the room, settling down at two empty chairs. 

Eren saddened at the loss of contact at his arm. A tingling feeling was left in the wake of Levi's hand, and the only thing Eren could compare it to was a thunderstorm existing under his skin. 

Levi cleared his throat, capturing Eren's attention. "I hope you don't mind, but my gift will be a tad late."

"O-oh, you didn't need to get me anything," Eren assured him.

"Nonsense," Levi argued. "You're a new member, we do this for everyone. But I made your gift especially for you. I suspect you'll get it tomorrow."

Eren raised an eyebrow at him. "How will I get it? Are you coming to my apartment?" He knew that Levi had seen where he lived and it was quite possible that he remembered his address.

"No, that won't be necessary," Levi hummed.

Eren wondered that he gift possibly could be and how on earth Levi would possibly get it to him. "I don't want you giving me anything if it'll be an inconvenience for you."

"It won't be," Levi assured him. 

 

~

 

Food was passed around, courtesy of Sasha, and Mikasa came to Eren, explaining him things to expect once he started coming to meetings regularly. Everyone welcomed him so warmly and it occurred to him that he could possibly refer to them as his friends. It would be a nice change. Having people to spend time with and trust. 

A few gifts had been handed to him, though he protested with each offering, nobody was deterred from giving him what they had prepared, no matter how modest he was. He eventually was given a bag to hold his gifts, and he unceremoniously threw it over his shoulder.

By the end of the night, Eren was one of the last people to remain. Mikasa stayed back to offer him her gift in private. 

She stood before him and wrapped a scarf, crocheted from yarn with variegated colors of red, orange and yellow. She smiled at him, seeing how it fit. "For protection," she stated. "And of course, warmth."

Eren's grateful simper showed her that he appreciated every knot within the piece. "Thank you so much," he breathed.

"You're very welcome. Thank you for joining." And with that, she turned to leave.

Sasha, being the owner of the establishment, was the last to leave, the rest of members exiting before her.

Eren headed off into the direction of his apartment building, and sure enough, a hand secured itself on his bicep, seemingly attracted to that spot. Eren grinned as he looked to his side, finding Levi looking up at him quizzically. "Trying to get rid of me, are you?" Levi purred.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Eren said. Perhaps that was a bit too forward, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. He only bent his arm to accommodate Levi's grasp and continued on his trek.

"I was thinking..." Levi began, as they reached the halfway point to their destination. "Something could happen to you as you go up the stairs to your apartment. Perhaps it would be best if I escort you to your door."

Eren knew Levi didn't actually think that. He smirked as he replied. "Perhaps it would be. Would you also like to come in for a quick moment?"

"Sure."

Eren got to thinking as they walked in the darkness, he felt genuinely fascinated by the man beside him. He knew so little about him, so what could a bit of inquiry hurt? "So... what do you do for a living?"

Levi's lips quirked up at the question. "I own a tea shop. What do you do?"

"I work at a home improvement store, it's not really exciting," Eren replied, scratching his neck nervously. Uncertain of how he could build off of that topic, he figured he could change the subject. "How did you get into witchcraft?"

Levi snickered. "Is this twenty questions?"

"... It might be."

Levi shook his head amusedly. "Fine, then. When I was young, I would wish for there to be snow storms every night so I wouldn't have to go to school the next day. Every so often, it'd work, but it was only when I said a little spell I made up. I didn't say it every night, because I was afraid I'd push my luck, but it worked regardless. After awhile I started thinking I could use that for other things I wanted. It wasn't until after I started reading about storm magick that I realized how far I could take things."

Eren smiled at the story. "That's cute," he commented.

"Cute?" Levi repeated with a raised brow. "I never specified what I went on to use my craft for, and trust me, it's the furthest thing from cute."

Eren instantly backpedalled. "I just meant the beginning was cute... when you said you'd use it to get out of school."

"Oh," Levi breathed. "Yeah, when the most your classmates will do is cross their fingers and wake up early to see the weather report, you learn to start pulling your own weight."

Eren let out an unattractive snort and slapped his hand over his mouth. Levi simply prided himself for being able to make him laugh.

Once they reached Eren's apartment building, Levi followed him up the stairs as promised. "I have to warn you, I've got a very clingy cat," Eren said, unlocking his door.

"I don't mind, I love animals."

Eren stepped through the door and sure enough, Soot was right there to greet him by rubbing up against his legs. "Hey, sweetie." He bent down to scratch behind her ears, earning a string of purrs. "Be a good girl. Say hi to Levi," he said as he stood back up, closing the door behind Levi.

Levi stood in front of Soot and kneeled to see her better. "Is she friendly?"

"Very," Eren assured him.

Levi offered his hand for Soot to smell and decide if she liked him or not. The feline took a few sniffs and merely stared up at him, letting out long, jarring yowls. Levi raised his brows at the cat in alarm.

Eren frowned, coming to calm her, giving her a few strokes on the head. 

"Did I upset her?" Levi asked.

"I don't... think so? I'm not sure, she never makes that noise at people," Eren replied, giving his cat a funny look. Soot just kept wailing, but showed no signs of disliking Levi and even nuzzled her head against his palm. "What a goof," Eren mumbled, scratching her back once more as he rose to his feet. 

Levi also stood after quickly petting the cat. "What's her name?"

"Soot," Eren answered. "Sorry about the screaming, that's not like her."

"I don't mind," Levi said, watching as Soot ran to the nearest window and stared out into the night. "She's adorable."

"Thanks," Eren replied, smiling. "Can I get you some tea? Assuming you're not sick of it, owning a tea shop."

"Sure, I'd love some," Levi answered, amused, as he looked around while Eren got to work, preparing a kettle. Eren certainly didn't hide the fact that he was a cat owner, with all the random cat toys laying around. Levi took note of all the little scratch marks at the sides of doors, signaling where the persistent cat had been a little too tenacious, trying to get through. He grinned to himself, imagining how hectic things must be when Soot was acting out.

"You can sit down if you'd like," Eren offered from the kitchen.

"Oh, thank you." Levi took a seat at the couch, letting his attention fall on the pictures decorating the walls. They were scarce, but the most common subjects were Soot, of course, and a woman who had strikingly similar features to Eren. 

Not much later, Eren joined Levi at the couch, pouring their tea. "Do you like sugar in your tea?"

"No thank you," Levi responded, taking his cup. "Who is she?"

"Hm?" Eren looked up at Levi in question.

Levi gestured to the wall. "The woman in the pictures. She's beautiful."

"Oh, um, that's my mother. And thank you." Eren took a sip of his tea. He wasn't exactly ready to speak of his mother so soon.

"What's she like?"

"She was a very lovely woman." Eren emphasized that fact that she was no longer around and kept his answered curt to avoid the subject. Luckily, Levi caught on.

They kept chatting for awhile, keeping themselves on light hearted topics. The more they spoke, the fonder they grew of each other. Eren felt more comfortable around Levi, letting his more extroverted side show, while Levi was just as reserved as he always seemed, but smiled more often.

"I didn't realize it was so late," Levi breathed, checking one of Eren's clocks. "I need to get going. Thanks for having me."

Eren led Levi to the door. "Thanks for walking me home." He didn't want to leave it there, he didn't want to wait until the next coven meeting to see him again. "Um..." he stammered. "Would you like to get together sometime? For coffee or something?"

Levi paused outside of his apartment, smirking back at Eren. "Sure. Are you free on Sunday?"

"I believe so."

"Meet me at the Wings of Visions at noon. We can do something then."

"Alright," Eren agreed. "I'll see you then."

"Goodnight, Eren. And don't forget, you'll get your gift tomorrow."

He turned and left without another word. Eren came back inside, wondering vaguely what the gift could be, but was more concerned with his meeting with Levi. That man did things to him that he couldn't quite explain, but in no way objected. He collapsed on the couch, grinning up at the ceiling, feeling practically giddy over their plans. Soot joined him, kneading on his chest and beginning to purr. Eren reached to pet her. "Wish papa luck," he murmured to her.

 

~

 

Eren awoke the next morning to the sound Soot practically howling, just like she had been the night before. Alarmed by the noise, he shot up into a sitting position to find her in case she was hurt. He looked around and sound her sitting on the window sill, looking out and screaming as rain pounded against the glass relentlessly. He laid back down, figuring she was fine as she had always done this when it was storming outside.

Twenty minutes later, he arose to go through his morning routine, but was distracted by the raging weather. He stood at the window, observing how forcefully the rain came down, watching occasional lightning flashing in the distance and hearing the thunder that roared. No light was shining down from the sky and he could see trees down in the streets struggling to stay still in the wind. Usually, he'd find himself unnerved by mother nature's display, but this was truly something to behold. He'd never been more fascinated with the weather and he couldn't understand why.

Acting completely on instinct, Eren hurried to throw on his shoes and rushed out the door to leave his apartment. He flew down the stairs and out through the door, immediately being struck by the rain. As soon as the drops hit him, he felt a surge energy coursing through him. His heart pounded within his chest and he found himself overcome with an unfamiliar feeling. He looked all around to see how the wind was nearly sweeping everything away, but he remained perfectly grounded. As if he was watching a tornado within a stable, glass building.

One of his neighbors walked up the the doorway, struggling to keep ahold of their umbrella. They stepped up to him, shouting over the rain. "Are you locked out? Did you lose your keys?"

"No, no, I've got my keys," he replied, still transfixed with his surroundings.

His neighbor gave him a funny look, but shrugged it off, entering the building.

Eren took in his air through large gulps, unable to calm himself. He didn't like rain much, but there was something so alluring about this storm that made him want to be put under its mercy for hours on end. There was some kind of beauty hidden between each raindrop, some kind of siren song laced within the thunder. Everything about it was so exhilarating. Despite being in the middle of a storm that could take a turn for the worst at any moment, he felt so... free. Like all his burdens were being washed down the gutters along with the rain.

 

~

 

Eren searched through his mother's grimoire, fueled by the energy the storm had given him. He looked through the pages with such care, trying to find a spell for luck and prosperity. Something told him that if he casted something out during the storm, then it would be successful and strong. He certainly wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.

He took his mother's grimoire and casted his circle by lighting candles and making sure he shut his door so that Soot wouldn't come in. His blood pumped through his veins like gasoline fueling a racing machine as he prepared everything for his spell. 

He read aloud the words on the tattered page just as his mother wrote them, letting the fire in his chest give life to his incantation. For the first time, his speech within his circle wasn't shrouded with an unnamable emptiness from reading his mother's writing. It was sparking his intent so strongly that there was no doubt in his mind that he'd get what he wanted.

However, no matter how much inspiration was spurring Eren on, every time he'd perform a spell, his mother's voice would echo in the back of his mind. "Visualization is key," she'd say when she was still alive. "Picture what you want as if you already have it." 

What did he want? What was he hoping to achieve from this? The first image he saw was Levi. Just Levi with no context to what he was doing or where he was. So, Eren honed in on that intent. He knew better than to cast a spell on Levi and influence his will, so he simply visualized himself standing with Levi as he bellowed out the last stanza of the spell with great confidence.

Right as he finished his spell, he heard a loud clap of thunder. He smiled at his window and convinced himself that that was some force telling him that his spell had worked. He took down his circle, blowing out his candles and placed everything back where it all belonged.

Just before he opened his door to let Soot back in, he looked down at his mother's shrine and smiled at her picture. "I've got so much to tell you tonight."

 

~

 

Eren walked down to Wings of Visions the next day, just like he had planned with Levi. Surprisingly, the storm from the day before had lasted until midnight, but the skies could not be clearer as Eren walked down the streets to his favorite store. His heart immediately started fluttering when his eyes landed on Levi speaking casually with Sasha. Gathering up every bit of confidence he could, he strutted up to Levi and gently tapped his shoulder to gain his attention. Levi turned on his heel and smiled upon seeing Eren. "Hey there."

"Hi," Eren breathed, his grin matching Levi's. 

"Hey, Eren!" Sasha waved as she saw him. "Come to take Levi away from me have you?"

"Yeah, sorry." Eren wasn't sorry in the least. He couldn't wait to be alone with Levi.

"I'll see you soon, Sasha," Levi said, exiting with Eren. As soon as they left the shop, Levi slung his arm around the other man's like he always did while they walked. "Do you have a preference in what we do or are you open to my suggestion?"

"What's your suggestion?"

"I say we should walk through the park and head off on a trail. I can guarantee that there won't be many people there."

"Let's do that then," Eren agreed.

The park was somewhat close by and they arrived in no time at all. Levi quickly led them to a nature trail that had no other visible signs that it was occupied. Their shared silence was somehow comfortable but Levi had things to ask of Eren. "What did you think of the storm yesterday?"

Instantly recalling the downpour and relentless thunder, Eren went wide eyed at the mere mention of of it. "God, it was incredible. I mean, it probably caused some damage or other problems somewhere, but I thought it was something beautiful."

Levi smirked to himself, keeping his eyes on the path, feeling his face heat up involuntarily. "So, you liked it?"

"Of course I did," Eren answered without thinking about it. Once he did ponder over what Levi said, however, he realized it was a strange thing to ask about the weather. And did Levi look... flattered? "Wait. Did you...?"

Levi rid his features of any emotion, appearing stoic and oblivious. "Did I what?"

Eren studied Levi's expression, finding the tiniest hint of mischief behind his eyes and decided he already knew the answer. "Nothing." 

"You know, I'm especially glad that you joined our coven," Levi said, changing course. "Something tells me that we'll be spending a lot of time together."

"Would that something happen to be Ymir?" Eren inquired, remembering her prophetic gift.

Levi chuckled lightly. "No, not exactly. I just have a strong feeling about us is all. Do things like that ever happen to you? Do you ever get a sudden realization or gut feeling that you just know to be true?"

Eren snorted. "I wouldn't call it a gut feeling, I'd call it my mother being a pushy know-it-all." As soon as the words left his mouth, he tensed up, not used to speaking of his mother so easily in front of someone who was practically a stranger. 

"Does your mother practice divination?" Levi asked out of pure curiosity.

Eren backpedalled, not wanting to speak of his mother in the present tense only for Levi to find out one day that she'd passed. "She didn't. She, uh... died some years ago. But sometimes I'll get signs that I feel are from her." What was he doing? He never was so open about her with anyone. Then again, it wasn't often that someone would try to get close to him. 

"She's still with you?" Levi asked.

Eren was grateful that Levi didn't apologize or offer condolences, only spoke in a cheerful tone of her. For that reason, Eren couldn't feel depressed to talk about her. "Um, yeah. At least, I believe she is. Even if there isn't an afterlife or whatever, I like to think that she still hangs around. Sometimes I'll talk to her and something will happen right afterwards. Kind of like she's talking back. That's what I tell myself anyways." His heart pounded in his chest, drowning out the noise of twigs cracking beneath their feet. He couldn't believe he was genuinely comfortable and happy talking about his mother.

"Believing is half the battle," Levi commented. "Did your mother or do you believe in an afterlife?"

Eren shrugged. "Dunno. I'm not sure what I believe in. My mom never told me what she thought happened after we die." She never wrote it down either, which killed Eren. He would've at least liked to know where she thought she'd be after reading her grimoire.

"Maybe that's because she never planned on leaving you. And maybe she still hasn't."

What was Levi doing to him? He'd meant for this to be something close to a date, but somehow Levi ended up providing him with more comfort about his mother's passing than anyone else. They barely knew each other. And yet, they talked like they'd known each other for years. "I hope you're right." He vaguely wondered if Levi was simply easy to talk to or if they really did have a connection so early on. "Levi...? Am I wrong to think that there's... something between us?"

"Depends, what would that something be?"

Eren stared off into the trees bordering the trail, deep in thought. "I'm not sure."

"Then that's not for me to answer."

"No, I mean..." Eren sighed. Why was this so hard? "It's obvious that there's no need for small talk between us. Your boundaries with me—" he gestured to Levi's arm wrapped around his own. "Are nonexistent, not that I mind! And I feel like I've met you before. Is it just me? Are you like this with everyone?"

Levi kicked a stone that sat in his path. "I can promise you, I'm not like this with anybody else." He left it at that, confident that it would suffice for an answer.

Eren took a deep breath and shook Levi's arm loose. Levi looked up at him, concerned that he might've said something wrong. Eren only grabbed Levi's hand gently, interlocking their fingers and trusting that he wouldn't mind. 

And he didn't.

 

~

 

They made their way to the park, only to find it surprisingly empty with only a few strangers to be seen. They sat down at a bench and took in the scenery. "You know we have another coven meeting next weekend, right?" Levi asked.

"I do now," Eren laughed.

"Would you like to stay for a little while at my home afterwards? I'd walk you back to your apartment of course."

Eren mulled over the idea, he had no problem spending more time with Levi, no matter where they were. "I'd love to," he answered, pleased to see Levi's elated expression following his confirmation. "Do you know what we'll be doing at the meeting?"

"Yes, Sasha told me we'll be making pages for our grimoires."

Eren's heart stilled. "... Oh. I guess I can't participate then."

Levi looked at him in question. "Do you not have a grimoire?"

"No, no, I do. It's just... already finished," Eren mumbled, avoiding his gaze. "And I have no interest in adding to it."

"You could always make more—"

"No," Eren cut him off a but to sternly. He tried speaking calmer to fix his error. "I'm sorry. But my grimoire belonged to my mother and she wrote down everything I need to know in there. I don't want to insult her by using another source to gather information."

Levi took a hold of Eren's hand to offer reassurance. "What about new things you've learned on your own? Or spells that you've created? There's always new information that you can record."

Eren shook his head dismissively. "I never stray from her grimoire, if she didn't write it down, then it's nothing I need to know."

"Okay, but how do you expect to grow in your craft?" 

"I don't need to grow," Eren mumbled. "I have all that I need in my mother's grimoire." 

Levi nodded understandingly. One could only move on from a loss so much. "Fair enough. Will you still come to the meeting?"

Eren attempted to bring his thoughts out from the dark and gave a small smile. "Yes, of course."

 

~

 

Eren showed up to the meeting just as promised, and was first greeted by Mikasa. "Welcome back," she beamed. "Levi told me you weren't interested in working on your grimoire, and that's just fine. But if you wouldn't mind, would you be willing to help Sasha brew the tea?"

"Sure," Eren replied. Mikasa guided him to where Sasha stood in the corner and was immediately overwhelmed by all the mingling scents. "Hey, Sasha."

"Oh, hi Eren!" She placed several boxes of herbs in front of him and shared a list. "These are all the mixtures I've been asked to brew, the ones that are checked off are already finished. Just put the combinations in the rest of the tea infusers and that'll be it."

"Alright." Eren got right to work, separating the herbs. "Wouldn't it be easier to just make one pot of tea?"

"Yes, it would," Sasha chuckled. "But each herb has different properties and everyone who's tea staining their pages has a specific intent in mind."

"Tea staining? That sounds like fun..." Eren pouted. 

"Do you want to do it too?"

"No," Eren sighed. "I won't be making a page."

"Really?" Sasha asked. "Why not?"

"I already have a grimoire and its complete. I don't have a need for another book either."

"Hm, suit yourself. In that case, would you like to help out with the materials and setup whenever we work on our grimoires?"

"I don't see why not." Eren knew he'd have to suppress his want to join in every time they'd be working on their grimoires. He'd decided long ago that the book his mother gave him would always be all that he needed. It was one of the few things he had left of her, so he wouldn't dare look for something more. That book was enough. His mother was enough.

Once the tea started brewing, Sasha informed him that there wasn't much else to help with, so he could find a seat. He looked around and felt an odd kind of guilt as he saw how much fun everyone was having. Mikasa was sewing directly into her page. Armin was using ocean water he'd collected to paint in water colors. Bertolt gathered berries and started crushing them to make ink. Annie set stones on her page, using them as paper weights as she wrote. Petra secured pressed flowers on her paper. Mike added scented oils to the ink he used. Eren shook the feeling that he should be included. He didn't need anything more. 

His eyes landed on Levi sitting across from Ymir and he made a b-line to the seat beside him. "Hi Levi."

Levi looked up at him, smiling upon seeing him. "Hey there."

Eren took a seat. "What are you working on?" He asked, glancing at Levi's binder with laminated pages and the blank one beside it. 

"I'm just setting everything up right now. I'm waiting for the tea to be finished brewing."

Eren nodded looked over at Ymir's book. "What are you making?"

Ymir answered him without looking up, too invested in her work to get distracted. "I'm illustrating a tarot spread I came up with last week."

Soon, they were joined by Christa as she brought over a tray of tea. She offered two of the dishes to Levi and Ymir, keeping the third for herself. "Eren, where's your book?"

He was getting tired of explaining it to everybody. "I'm not participating."

"Aw, why not?"

"Mine is finished and I don't want another." He hoped that answer would be enough to satisfy her, and luckily it was.

"What does your grimoire look like?"

Eren shrugged. "Just your basic one I guess. It's got a worn cover, a lot of writing, mostly in cursive and a few depictions of ingredients. Nothing too fancy."

"Have you ever added special features? Like fold out pages or physical pieces from a spell or ritual?" She inquired. "I kind of can't do that because I work with the sun, and uh, you know. The sun tends to stay where it is," she laughed. "But there are probably a lot of things you can do involving your craft."

Eren scratched his arm uncomfortably. "Well, not exactly. It's very plain, but I love it."

"Ever thought of burning the edges to give it an antiquated look?" Christa suggested. "That would look pretty neat! And it involves your craft."

"I-I don't know..." He would never dream of holding a flame to his mother's book out of fear that something would go wrong.

Ymir raised her head to address Eren. "You know what would be really cool, is if you tried flame writing." She looked over to Christa. "I saw it on Pinterest like a month ago. It's where you take a leadless pencil, light the tip on fire and start writing. It was awesome."

Eren had to admit, he liked the sound of that. But again, his hands were tied by limits he'd set for himself.

"Wow," Christa breathed. "He could even take ashes he's used from a spell and add a mixing medium to make ink."

"Good idea, and he could burn candles and use the wax to seal pages."

They kept on brainstorming and Eren just wished they'd stop. He didn't need anything else. He was doing just fine on his own, dammit. He knew better than to find truth behind it, but he felt as if they were telling him that his mother's grimoire wouldn't suffice. As if they were telling him that his mother didn't give him enough. 

Before he realized it, a hand was curling into his own under the table. He looked over to its owner and found Levi giving him a sympathetic look. Levi could see that he was regretting his decision to come, and wished there was more he could do to comfort Eren. 

But Eren didn't need much more to make him feel better. Having Levi there to understand what was wrong was enough.

 

~

 

"I'm sorry that there wasn't much for you to do," Mikasa apologized. "Our next meeting, however, we'll be performing a prosperity ritual, since that day marks the first harvest. And afterwards, Sasha will be making bread. We'll cut back on the grimoire centered meetings if you'd like."

Eren waved her off. "That won't be necessary, I don't want to hold anyone back. Sasha said I could help prepare the materials for the future meetings."

"Okay, you're sure you don't mind? I don't want you to feel left out."

"I promise, it's fine," Eren assured her.

Mikasa gave a relieved smile. "Alright then, I'll see you at our next meeting."

"Goodbye, Mikasa." Eren turned and headed out the door and down the stairs, meeting Levi at the base. "Lead the way."

Levi did just that, taking a hold of Eren's arm like he usually did and walked out the door with him, smirking all the while. "My home isn't as far from the shop as yours is," he said. "It's at the end of the street."

Eren hummed in response, taking in the scenery as they walked. 

Their journey lasted mere minutes before they reached an apartment building at the corner. Levi guided Eren up a flight of stairs, soon reaching his apartment and unlocking the door. They stepped inside while Levi flicked on the lights and Eren felt a tad surprised. His own home was neat and tidy, but Levi's was absolutely immaculate.

"Would you like a drink? Or something to eat?" Levi asked, setting his grimoire down on his kitchen table. 

"Sure, a drink would be nice," Eren answered as he studied his surroundings. He took in all the dark blue hues that decorated Levi's apartment along with all the symbols drawn upon surfaces. 

"Coffee or tea?" 

"Uh, coffee," Eren said absentmindedly. He moved further into Levi's living room, inspecting a line of salt laying on his window sill. He turned back to look down at the coffee table in front of the sofa, holding several visibly used candles and several books stacked evenly. Levi appeared to integrate his craft into his daily life just as much if not more than him. 

Levi joined Eren in the living room, taking a seat on the couch and motioning for him to do the same. "Sit while the coffee brews."

Eren followed his suggestion, still gazing all around. "I love your apartment."

"Thank you, I work hard to keep it like this."

"It sure shows," Eren chuckled, finally looking back at him.

"Thanks..." Levi had more meaningful things to discuss, so he elected to cut off the idle chatter. "How were you holding up during the meeting?"

Eren shrugged. "I was fine."

Levi stared at him with uncertainty. "I'm not sure if I believe that. You can tell me if something was wrong, I'd like to ensure that you don't feel uncomfortable next time." He stood to check on their coffee. 

"Well... I wasn't uncomfortable, but I did feel somewhat off. But it's not a problem."

Levi returned with a tray, carrying their drinks. "Do you take cream or sugar?"

Eren shook his head, taking his mug.

"Off in what sense?" Levi's asked, taking his own mug and sitting back down.

Eren looked down at his hands, trying to find the right words. "I'm not sure. Just... I know that I don't need anything more in terms of keeping information on my craft, but I still wanted to be a part of the group activity. I don't need to expand, but I want to. But I can't. That probably makes no sense."

"I understand," Levi replied. "There are things you'd like to do, but you don't know if it's right to do them. You built walls for yourself, but you didn't anticipate everything they'd keep you from." 

Eren nodded, thankful that Levi had put it into words for him. "Yeah, I guess so. But it wasn't so horrible. I knew even as you worked that you would get it and you wouldn't try to guilt me. That's all I needed."

Levi grinned slightly, taking a sip of his coffee. "I'm glad. If you feel pressured or guilted again, I'll do what I can to take that off your shoulders."

Eren snickered. "It seems that you're always doing that for me." He shook his head amusedly, taking a drink before setting down his mug. "I can't tell what it is, but being around you is so calming for me, and also... so exciting at the same time. It might just be me, but it feels like your presence just... helps."

Levi set down his own mug, pondering over Eren's words. "Funny, I feel that way too. Would you think it's a coincidence, maybe?"

"I'm kind of hoping that it's not," Eren admitted. "I'm hoping there's a reason for it."

"As am I," Levi agreed. 

Eren gazed into Levi's eyes, almost as if he was trying to find something behind them. Fortunately, Levi didn't appear to mind much, as he gazed right back, seemingly with intent. Eren tried not to stare for a suspiciously long time, but he really couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away. That was until he heard a clap of thunder and turned to look out the window, seeing a small few raindrops hitting the glass. He frowned in confusion. "That's odd... there weren't many clouds out tonight."

He turned back, but not on his own will. A hand gently took hold of his jaw and pulled him back. And before he knew it, a soft pair of lips were against his and he was caught in a dreamlike state.

It didn't last for long, Levi separated from Eren, looking down at his lap, wary. "I'm sorry..." he hushed. "I-I shouldn't have..."

Eren silenced him, diving in for another kiss and wrapping an arm around Levi's waist. Acting purely on impulse may not have been the way to go, but in that moment he didn't give a damn. This was what he'd been wanting. Levi shared that desire, so who was he to ignore the urge?

They stayed like that, embracing one another as the thunder grew louder and the rain grew stronger.

 

~

 

Eren laid down on his couch, staring up at his ceiling and lazily dragging a jingling toy across the floor while Soot chased after it. The night he spent with Levi wasn't going to be leaving his thoughts anytime soon. He couldn't spend every waking moment with Levi, but that didn't stop him from wanting to and daydreaming about it. 

After they had kissed, everything became so clear to Eren. He'd been needing someone, anyone to get him through his daily life. And Levi was everything he could've asked for. He couldn't believe he'd fallen so quickly, but after years of closing himself off, he didn't expect himself to feel any different. He just hoped that wouldn't ruin it before it started.

Soot grew bored of her toy and laid down on the floor. Noticing her lack in activity, Eren sat up to gaze at her. "Bedtime?" He mumbled. Hoisting himself into a sitting position, he got off the couch and got ready for bed. 

Once he was ready, he brought Soot into his room and shut the door. He was about to climb onto his mattress, but decided he wasn't completely prepared to go to sleep. Not yet. He shuffled to stand in front of his mother's shrine and kneeled to the ground. He bowed his head and looked upon the framed picture. 

"Hey, mom," he whispered, mindful to not disturb Soot. "I figured I should update you on everything that's been going on." Trying to keep a light tone as he spoke became harder with each year that passed. He thought it'd be easier after all this time, but it never was.

"I'm still going to the coven meetings. The last time, everybody was working on their grimoires, but don't worry. I only use yours, so I just helped set up some supplies." He couldn't bear the thought of his mother thinking he'd forgotten her teachings or ignored her written words. He had to reassure her.

"And... I should probably mention that I think I've found someone. I told you a bit about Levi. I know we haven't known each other for long, but ma, he's an amazing person. He's so... gentle. And caring. You would love him." He studied the smile in the picture, hoping that wherever his mother was, she was smiling just the same, happy for him. "He kinda takes care of me in a way. I know you'd be happy to know someone's looking after me," he chuckled. 

"There's something about him that just makes me feel safe again. I'm doing more things because of him. He's so wonderful, mom." 

He looked over his shoulder to check the clock and sighed agitatedly at the time. "I should go to sleep. Goodnight, mom. I love you."

 

~

 

Levi rested his head on Eren's shoulder, letting most of his weight lean into him while they sat on Eren's couch. Eren had his arm around Levi as they watched a random television show that neither of them could care less about. 

Soot kept alternating between yowling at Levi and running to the window ever since he arrived. He still couldn't understand why she did that, but he was amused more than anything. "Are you sure your cat likes me?"

Eren nodded. "Yeah, she's just being whiny. I can't figure out why."

Levi snickered to himself. "Maybe she's jealous that I'm getting more attention from you than she is."

Eren chuckled. "Maybe." He looked down at Levi fondly. "She'll just have to get over it and quit being spoiled."

Levi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Am I the new favorite?"

"I don't know, maybe," Eren teased. "If you don't scream at me for more food, then it's safe to say that she's got some competition."

Levi snorted out a laugh. "Better watch your back, cat." 

Eren snuggled closer to Levi. It'd been so long since he shared a moment like this with another person. It felt almost too good to be true. And since it had been ages since his last relationship, he couldn't help but wonder if he was doing things right. "Levi? Are we going into this a little fast?"

Levi gazed up at him. "Do you not like it?"

"No!" Eren hurried to say. "I mean, I-I love how things are going. I'm just worried that we'll realize we jumped into this without thinking."

"What's there to think about?" Levi asked, adjusting in his seat so he could fully face Eren. "We're both obviously interested in each other. I don't plan on rushing anything, so if you're concerned about that, you don't need to be."

"... You're right. I guess I'm not sure of exactly why I'm so anxious. I just don't want to mess things up with you," he mumbled. 

"I don't want to mess this up either," Levi nearly whispered. He sat up and straddled Eren, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. "We'll go through this slowly. If I do anything you don't like, be sure to tell me. And I'll do the same for you."

Eren rested his arms around Levi's waist, smiling back at him softly. "Sounds like a plan."

Mirroring his simper, Levi leaned in to kiss him briefly. He hoisted himself up and off of Eren, resuming his earlier position, but Eren kept an arm around his waist to maintain their close proximity. 

Levi grabbed Eren's free hand and inspected his fingers, running his thumb over the chipping black nail polish. He turned the hand over, looking at the black that remained on his fingertips. "What's all this black shit on your hands?"

"Oh, um... body paint," Eren answered lamely.

Levi huffed out an amused breath. "Body paint? Why's it there?"

"I don't know, it's just a part of my routine I guess. I put it there everyday before I go out, sometimes I forget to take it off." 

"Yeah, but... why?"

Eren didn't think it would be very impressive to him, he actually thought Levi would think it was stupid. But he wasn't going to lie. "... It makes me feel better about being terrible at my craft. Makes me feel cool," he mumbled.

Levi clicked his tongue. "What do you mean you're terrible? You can't be bad at your craft."

"I am terrible. A lot of my spells don't work, half of the time I have no idea what I'm doing, sometimes I'll mess up and set fire to something, and after all these years I still can't properly read a candle flame. It's like I'm never improving."

"Well, do you experiment?"

"No, I follow all the instructions in my grimoire exactly. I mean, sometimes I'll get ideas off the internet, but I've given up on that. They always end badly. Sometimes I think I'm a bad witch."

Levi interlocked their fingers, hoping to comfort him. "You're not a bad witch. You're only a bad witch if you do bad things." Levi didn't want the conversation to progress on the path he was going, so he changed it. "But if you don't experiment, you can never get better. It's foolish to repeat the same things over and over, only to expect different results."

"Wow, do you have more quotes from Pinterest up your sleeve?" Eren laughed.

"Actually, it was Einstein who first said something along those lines." Levi sat apart from Eren to smirk at him. "Try things that are interesting to you. You might find your specialty or your new favorite technique."

Eren sighed, frowning. "No, I just have to be patient."

"But you don't like being patient, do you?"

Eren smiled sadly at him, knowing he was right.

Levi knew that Eren stuck to his grimoire so carefully because it was his mother's. And he didn't have the heart to tell him to give it up. "We all struggle. It comes with the practice. But don't let your failures - however many there are - keep you from taking pride in your success, however scarce it is."

Eren chuckled at him. "And who said that?"

Levi shrugged. "I did."

Eren broke out in a delighted smile and pecked Levi's lips. "You're corny, but it helps."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

 

~

 

Back at another coven meeting, the group focused on doing a joined spell for Marco. He was looking for a new job and was having the worst luck, so they decided they'd give him the extra push that he needed.

Eren felt nervous about the execution, but he thought the least he could do was a simple good luck spell. It was by far one of the most effortless and least advanced spells he knew but it was something and he wanted to help Marco. His only fear was that it wouldn't do anything.

Levi held his hand in reassurance as he stared down timidly at the candle he'd brought. "It'll work," he promised.

Eren frowned at the misshapen wax in his hand. "That's not a guarantee." 

"The others are adding their spells in too. I'm sure every little bit counts."

Eren looked over at Levi. "What are you doing?"

"I sent my spell out yesterday. It should reach him tomorrow."

Eren nodded. It seemed like he was the only novice of the group. No one looked down on him or made him feel invalid, but based on his own constant failures, he decided he was the least valuable of the coven.

"Marco will be grateful for everything he gets. He'll be thankful that you're trying for him."

Levi was right. Even if his spell alone didn't work, the others' combined efforts would surely help and his intentions would be appreciated. But somehow, that wasn't enough for him. He wanted to know that this would work.

The circle was casted with everyone inside, Eren standing with his candle, a pack of matches and his mother's grimoire in his arms. The candle had been blessed long ago to be used for luck incantations, the matches were charmed to amplify his intent, and his mother's grimoire held the spell that he'd be reciting. 

Mikasa finished knotting a crafted bracelet around Marco's wrist and stood back. "It's your turn, Eren."

He nodded and stepped into front of Marco, feeling all the eyes on him. Marco smiled at him, letting him know he was ready and he took a deep breath. He glanced back at Levi, who sent him a confident nod, and he turned back, giving Marco his attention.

"This might hurt, are you okay with that?" Eren asked.

Marco nodded. "That's alright. I'll take everything I can get."

This was it. He had to do this exactly as it had been written for him. Setting his supplies down, he turned to the page with the spell he needed. He lit the candle and stood, holding the book carefully and away from the flame. Marco looked at him with hopeful eyes and he had to avert his gaze.

He held the candle over Marco's arm and stammered the incantation. His voice shook, and so did his arm and legs. He silently repeated the written words until a single drop of wax landed on Marco's skin, making his wince.

Eren shut his book, tucking it under his arm safely and pinching out the fire. "Sorry," he apologized for the pain, Bowing his head.

"Thank you," was all Marco said while Eren headed back to his spot. 

"You did a good job," Levi whispered to him.

Eren smiled slightly. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."

The ritual ended with Marco closing the circle, and they were left to spend their time however they pleased.

Mikasa sat by Eren and Levi, first addressing Eren. "That's was excellent participation. I'm glad you decided to join in. Were you comfortable?"

"Not entirely. It's kind of a hit or miss with my spell work, so I'm scared it might not have done anything."

Mikasa nodded along. "Well, our main concern is for you to be completely comfortable. So, don't worry about whether or not it worked. None of us are always successful. There will always be spells that don't work at all or don't work the way you expected them to. But that shouldn't discourage you. Do you understand?"

Eren let her words sink in. "Yes. Does that mean your spells don't always work?" She was the high priestess after all, he thought she must've been more skilled and well practiced than the rest of them.

"Of course. As a witch, you never stop learning. If you've reached a point where you think you don't need to get any better, then you either live a perfect life, which is impossible, or you're exceptionally arrogant."

Eren and Levi chuckled at that.

"Don't let it get you down." Mikasa patted Eren's shoulder and stood to leave.

"She's right, you know," Levi said.

"Yeah... it's just hard to remember that after years of little results and big mistakes."

"I know. The important thing is that you don't let that stop you."

Eren leaned into Levi's shoulder affectionately. "I won't. I want to be better."

"And you'll get there." Levi gently pecked Eren's cheek, making him blush and hide his smile.

"Hey, hey, hey," Sasha interrupted their moment, stepping over to them. "What was that I just saw? Come on, guys. Don't leave me out of the loop."

The two men exchanged a look and shrugged, neither minding much if they let people know. "We're together now," Levi announced.

"Really?" Sasha beamed. "That's incredible! How long has it been?"

"About a month now," Eren answered. "Not too long."

"Well, congratulations! Would you like it if our next meeting was a celebration for the two of you? It doesn't have to be anything fancy or serious if that's not what you want. It could just be like a little party."

They shared another look, neither giving away a preference.

"I don't know," Eren said.

"We'll get back to you on that," Levi added.

"Alrighty. If you decide you do want a little party, let me know. I'll make a special cake for you too!" With that, Sasha passed them, going to talk to Connie.

"What do you think?" Levi asked. "I don't mind people knowing. Though, I'm not one to be excited over having a party thrown for myself."

Eren shrugged. "I don't mind people knowing either. Maybe we could announce it, but decline the celebration."

Levi nodded. "That sounds better. But if Sasha still wants to make that cake, I'm not gonna stop her."

"I wouldn't either."

 

~

 

Months had passed and Eren and Levi only seemed to get closer by the day. Eren would often stroll down to Levi's apartment and spend as much time as he could there. Levi would come over to Eren's apartment, spending nights and though the two felt completely comfortable with each other, Soot never seemed to quit screeching at Levi, though she appeared to like him fine.

"I can't get why she screams at you," Eren mused. "She's not scared of you. Definitely doesn't dislike you. Little weirdo."

"I think it's funny that she does that," Levi snickered.

After Levi finished petting her, she zoomed up to the window, searching for something that never came.

"She doesn't do that to anyone else." Eren walked over to pat her head and calm her down. "Quiet, you little baby. You're annoying."

Levi laughed at the interaction. "Let her whine, she's not hurting anything."

"I don't want her to be a bother."

"She's not bothering me."

"If you say so." Eren stepped back, gently tugging on Levi's hand. "Let's go to my room, she'll end up giving us both a headache if we stay out here."

They escaped to Eren's bedroom with Soot following closely behind. As soon as the door shut, Soot stayed outside, clawing on the wood for entrance. Eren winced at Levi. "Shit, now I feel bad." He quickly searched around, finding one of Soot's favorite toys and opening the door, throwing it out as fast as he could to distract his cat.

Once the scratching stopped and he heard the jingle of the toy, he relaxed. "She's so clingy."

"She's a cutie," Levi commented, sitting on the bed. He looked around the room, it wasn't the first time he'd been in there, but he liked taking in the space. "Have I mentioned how much I love your altar?"

"Ah, no. But thanks, I've been putting it up like that since I started my practice."

Levi studied Eren's reaction when he brought up his past. And the more he talked about it, and the more he got off his chest, the happier he seemed to discuss it. "Is that how your mother set up her altar?"

Levi was happy to see that instead of shutting down, he smiled brighter at the mention of his mother. "Yeah, she took notes in her grimoire about how she placed things and what they symbolize. And there are some things I didn't have to reread in her grimoire to remember. I use to go into her private room and take a look at how she decorated things. I try to follow it as close as I can."

Levi patted next to him on the bed. "Tell me more about your mom. Tell me about how she got you started."

Eren sat down, staring into space. "I wish you could've met her. She was an amazing person. And a damn talented witch. She didn't really get me started, I didn't start practicing until after she passed."

Levi fell backwards to lay down, yanking Eren to come with him. They stared up at the ceiling. "Did she teach you when she was alive?"

"Sorta," Eren sighed. "When I was little, she'd let me know what she did so I didn't grow up thinking it was bad. I watched her make tinctures, perform rituals and make candles. I asked her why she did what she did, and she said it was to keep the family safe and to keep me happy. She said she practiced witchcraft to protect us." 

He adjusted to set his head by Levi's. "Then, in my teens, I got more interested in what she did. Instead of just watching, I asked her about how she did things, why she practiced, how everything worked. And... then she got sick." 

Levi wrapped his arm around Eren in case he'd need the support. 

"It was cancer. When she realized that the treatment wouldn't work, she gave me some of her things, but she gave me her grimoire last. She said even if I never used it, she wanted me to have it. I read it over and over from the time she gave it to me until she passed away. Then I didn't touch it for months. And when I was tired of missing her, I decided to start practicing out of her book to kinda keep her alive in a way. It helped. Still does."

Levi listened to every word. It pained him that Eren had to go through the loss of his mother, but he was glad that he was getting by. 

"You know, you haven't told me about how you started out."

Levi quirked an eyebrow at him. "Of course I did, I told you how I wanted snow days when I was a kid."

"That's how you got into witchcraft, but that's not the full history. I want an origin story," Eren laughed.

Levi smiled sadly at him. "I don't know... I have a lot of regrets from starting out. I'm not overly proud."

"I didn't have the best beginning. I started to keep my mother's memory going and that's pretty depressing."

"Yes, but that's different. Your initiation was the product of misfortune and, well... I caused it. Like I said, I have my fair share of regrets and I don't know if you'd want to hear it."

Eren turned on his side to face Levi better. "No one wants to listen to my sob story of my mom with cancer. But you listened. And I genuinely want to hear what you have to tell, even if it's not exactly a positive story."

Levi exhaled heavily. He didn't want Eren to look at him differently. He didn't want to ruin what they had going. "It's humiliating."

"I won't force you to tell me, but if you want to tell me, I want to hear it." 

As much as he wanted to forget about the whole ordeal, he figured he ultimately would want Eren to know at some point, believing it was only fair. "Okay. Well, you already know how I got interested in it. But after awhile, I started thinking maybe I could make other things happen. I read up on storm magick and figured out that that's what I was doing. This went into my teenage years and I went through all that time with little to no success at all. I put so much effort into spells only for nothing to happen. And then it all started working by accident."

Eren's interest piqued. "What happened?"

Levi rubbed at his face. "A huge mistake. I really fucked up."

Eren pecked his lips, urging him to continue. 

Levi relented, shutting his eyes tightly in frustration with himself. "I was sixteen and I had my first boyfriend." He waited for Eren to show signs of discomfort with the subject, but they never came. "I didn't realize at the time, but he was a piece of shit."

"I can relate."

Levi chuckled at that. "Yeah, but this guy was... he meant a lot to me and I was a fucking idiot for letting him near me. But, um, I fall for people really fast. It's not something I ever grew out of. But you know how sixteen year olds are, you think you're in love a day into the relationship."

Eren nodded along, he knew exactly how that was. "And what does this have to do with your craft?"

"I'm getting there." Levi flicked his arm. 

Eren laughed, rubbing the spot where he'd be hit and nodded to show he was still listening.

"Anyway, like two weeks after we started dating, I snuck out of the house and we went to this place he said he went to all the time that was down the road from where we lived. I don't even think anything he said was true, but that's beside the point." Levi's features contorted into a pained expression. "He asked me if I loved him, and me being a young, lovesick moron, I said yes. Then he asked me to prove it."

Eren tensed up hearing that. He already knew how that night ended.

"You don't need me to spell it out for you, so you can guess what that meant he made me do. And at the time... I didn't care. Because I honestly thought I loved him. And the next morning, I woke up and he wasn't there. And neither was his car." Levi wasn't looking at Eren anymore. He stared past him, not focusing on anything. "And because of the way I was raised by my mother, I was brought up thinking that you should save yourself for someone who you'll spend the rest of your life with. I know that's not how everyone is and I'm okay with that. But even now, I can't divorce myself from the belief that... giving yourself to someone like that is binding. And the fact that he took that from me and left, he used me, I basically went through the stages of grief."

Eren could feel the anger boiling up inside him over how Levi had been taken advantage of and hurt in such a way. 

"I remember being so heartbroken and distraught that I couldn't stand. I was all alone and having a panic attack. I couldn't go back home and tell my parents what happened. I remember staying there for the longest time, just screaming because I couldn't believe I trusted him so much and it was for nothing. And by the time I stopped screaming and crying and I was just numb, it started to rain real hard." 

Levi started speaking as if he was describing a bad dream. He wasn't entirely present anymore.

"Then I felt rage more than trauma and I walked home. When I came back, my parents were panicking and going on about how the storm outside was going to only get worse and there were warnings from the weather station. They were scared I got hurt or got caught in the storm. Then the power went out, but the rain got worse and I locked myself in my room. All I could think about for days was how hurt I was and how much I wanted him to hurt for leaving me. I didn't see him for a long time. The next time I saw him he was... different. He looked like he hadn't slept in a year and he was begging for me to forgive him. But I just told him to disappear. And he did."

Levi looked back at Eren. "After that I realized that I didn't need to plan out and perform rituals or cast elaborate spells. I just want something and I get it with the next storm. And I think I hurt him more than he may have deserved. I never heard from him after that. Some people said he moved away. Some people said he got arrested for something I don't think he was even capable of. I never found out what happened to him, I just know he was gone."

Levi hoped for some response but Eren was speechless.

"I make storms come and I give them meaning. But I can't perform spells outside of rain, snow and hail. And that's how I realized it."

"I'm sorry that happened to you," Eren murmured. "I'm glad you learned the extent of what you could do but... you didn't deserve that."

Levi shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I've never been with someone like that since. I'm waiting until I know I've found someone who feels the same. Someone I know I'll never leave and vice versa."

"I don't blame you." Eren couldn't imagine Levi letting out his emotions the way he said. He couldn't get through his head that somebody would do such a thing to such a wonderful person, or anyone at all. "I... I would never do that to you. I care about you and I won't hurt you."

Levi grinned slightly. "I know you won't." He closed in and brought him into a kiss.

Eren melted into his embrace, using his touches to reinforce his promise, letting Levi know he wasn't going anywhere. 

 

~

 

"If you don't stay out of my shit, I'm gonna keep you in the bathroom!" Eren threatened Soot, making her jump away.

"You could just do it at my house," Levi suggested. "I'd hold Soot for you, but I'm still not convinced she's fond of me at all."

"I promise, she likes you. She wouldn't let you pet her if she didn't."

Eren was trying to perform a spell, asking for Levi to watch over and give him pointers if he noticed something he could improve.

"You know, we use two entirely different kinds of magick, I'm not sure I could offer much helpful input," Levi commented, watching his boyfriend light incense on the floor and carefully reread the instructions in his grimoire. 

"I know, I just want to get better. I'm following my mom's instructions, I just need to know if I'm missing something that's more technical."

"There is no wrong way to cast a spell. As long as you use your intent and visualize, you should be fine."

"You have to visualize?!" Eren gawked at Levi.

"Watch it!" Levi pointed at the match in his hand nearly hitting the carpet.

Eren pulled his hand back, just before lighting up the rug. "Shit... I don't always visualize! My mom never said it was essential!"

"Well, during your more successful spells, did you picture in your head what you want?"

"... I can't remember." Eren frowned, flipping through his mother's book to find any mention of visualization. She had mentioned it before, but never said it was crucial to every spell.

"It's not completely necessary, but it definitely helps," Levi went on. "At this point, visualizing is all I need to do to cast a spell. It's different for everyone, you need to figure out what works for you. Don't focus on what your mom did or didn't write."

Eren tuned in and out, trying to finish the spell. He lit his red candles as the instructions had said. "I have to, she never had a spell go wrong. Maybe I'm not cut out for this. What if I'll never get good at this?"

"Eren, you're not your mother. You don't have to do everything just as she did. Even if you do, that doesn't mean that it'll all work for you just because it worked for her."

Eren looked over his set up disappointedly. "It has to work..." he mumbled. "This is all I have. This is what she left for me." He'd been doing the same thing for years just as it was written for him. He'd rather have no results in his craft than give up his mother's ways. 

Levi would've joined him if he was aloud to pass the circle he casted. "It's okay, Eren. I'm sure that your mother wouldn't be offended or hurt if you strayed from her way of doing things. You told me she said you wouldn't mind if you never used it. Shouldn't that mean that if you did things differently, she wouldn't care?"

Eren looked over everything once more. Technically that was true, but he wasn't sure if his mother - wherever she was - would still be okay with that. He became so frustrated, why couldn't she make it clear to him? "Dammit, I don't know—" as he turned to face Levi with his arms held out, utterly drained, his hand hit one of the candles, knocking it over.

Both Levi and Eren panicked as the lit wick landed on the open page of the book. Eren quickly tried to smother the flame. He swatted at the fire with his sleeve until it was out and only wisps of smoke were trailing in its wake. 

Levi watched silently, unsure of how he should respond, or if he should at all. 

Eren stared at the blackened pages. The fire had burned through several sheets and had darkened the edges of the holes. His precious book, the last thing his mother gave to him that she treasured so much in her time, was now tainted. The majority of the book was still in tact, but those few pages were no longer whole. His mother's handwriting, it was gone. Her knowledge that she recorded disappeared. It was barely anything that was missing, but every word was hers.

"Are you okay?" Levi asked.

Eren held the book in his hands, gently turning pages to observe the damage. He couldn't believe he'd done this. What would his mother say? What would she do? He couldn't bear the thought. He was distraught with what he'd done, he didn't want to think of how his mother would feel. He hoped that wherever she was, she didn't see.

"Eren..." Levi murmured.

Eren's hands shook beneath the binding.

 

~

 

Winter came, and Eren started spending more time at Levi's home, watching the snow float its way down from outside. 

"The next coven meeting is in a few days," Levi said, stroking Eren's hand and letting him rest against his chest. 

"I'm not going."

Levi looked down at him with furrowed brows. "Why's that?"

Eren only watched out the window, keeping silent. 

"Are you still upset about your grimoire?"

"Can you blame me?"

Levi sighed heavily. "It was an accident, there was nothing you could do. Don't blame yourself."

"I can't help it. Out of all the things she left behind, that's what she treasured the most."

"No," Levi disagreed. "She left you behind too. I can promise you, she valued you far more than an old book. And I've never met her, but I believe she'd rather you get past the objects she gave you and focus on living."

Eren had forgotten to be conscious of what his mother would've wanted rather than being like her. He was so dead set on accomplishing what she had and keeping her alive that he forgot that he needed to let himself live too. 

"You need to live for yourself."

Eren shook his head. "I don't know how to start." He'd spent so much time doing otherwise.

Levi placed a kiss on top of Eren's head. "I'll help you."

Eren sat up and turned to give Levi a proper kiss.

 

~

 

On the way home, Eren kept repeating his new goal for himself. "Live for myself... live for myself..." Once in his apartment, Soot was already at his feet, whining for attention. He scratched behind her ears for a moment. "I'll feed you in a second, I need to put my coat away."

He stepped past the cat and made his way to his bedroom. "I'll live for myself," he whispered one last time. "I just wish I knew what you'd want," he said, aiming it towards his mother. "Would you want me to put myself first?"

When he opened the door, he looked at his mother's shrine, finding the candles there already lit.

 

~

 

At another coven meeting, it felt more like a party than anything. Sasha and Connie announced that they'd finally be getting married as soon as their venue gave them an available date and all the coven members were invited. 

"If they open up before the end of the month, we could get married near the twenty-third! Wouldn't it be nice to have a Yule wedding?" Sasha beamed. 

"That would be wonderful," Levi agreed. "Are you having a traditional wedding?"

"Somewhat, we're having a handfasting and there'll be a lot of guests. So, it'll be as traditional as you can get. And we asked Mikasa, since she's our high priestess and she agreed to officiate the ceremony."

Levi nodded along. "Well, congratulations."

"Thank you, Levi." Sasha looked past him for a moment, then returned her gaze. "Is it just me, or does Eren seem less... anxious than usual?"

Levi looked over his shoulder to glance at his boyfriend, smiling and laughing with some of the other members. "Yes. He's been very relaxed as of late."

"What's up with that? Not that I'm complaining, I'm happy for him."

"Me too. Let's just say he's had a lot less to worry about lately. He's got a huge weight lifted off his shoulders."

"That's good, I didn't know there was something stressing him out," Sasha said. "How are things with the both of you? If I may ask."

Levi smirked. "Everything's going really well."

"You know, I've noticed that you seem a lot more chatty since the two of you started going out. Would you say it's a coincidence?" Sasha wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"Not at all. He's... he's a pretty special guy."

"I'm happy for you two. Do you see this one going anywhere?"

Levi glanced at Eren one more time. "Actually... I do. It's not like the other times, I'm sure of it."

"You say that almost every time."

"I know. But this time it's different. I'd ask Ymir to confirm it, but I'd rather see things unfold as they happen." He believed Eren when he said he'd never hurt him. And he believed his own instincts when they said he could trust him.

He knew he had a habit of falling too quickly, but Eren showed no signs of using him or leaving. And that's what he needed reassurance in the most. Reassurance that he was wanted and valued. Everything with Eren felt mutual, nothing was left unbalanced or one-sided.

"I think you two are good for each other, you know what I mean?" Sasha commented. "You kinda... level each other out. But you're not polar opposites, you're just what the other needs."

Levi weighed the thought over. "That makes sense." 

 

~

 

Connie and Sasha's wedding was absolutely beautiful. Since the date was so close to the winter solstice, they decided to have a winter themed ceremony with white roses and twinkling lights in every direction as a way to bring the season inside. The entire coven attended and were the least surprised guests when they wedded in a less conventional way.

Eren had never seen a handfasting before. So, he watched closely, seeing Sasha and Connie's hands being tied together by ribbons decorated with knots and charms. Him and the rest of the coven snickered at the shocked expressions of the guests who weren't familiar in the craft as Mikasa lowered a sword between the hands of the bride and groom. Of course, the blade was dulled. Sasha and Connie didn't want the ceremony to be traditional to the point that it scared their more conservative guests. Although, Connie tried to convince Sasha to bring fake blood packets as a prank, but Sasha said 'she didn't want it to ruin her dress,' and 'that's in bad taste,' and 'I want a classy ceremony with minimal jokes.' And thus, is was a gore free handfasting.

The ceremony ended and the reception began, something that put the newlyweds in their element. Since Connie worked with celebratory magick, he thrived off the energy. And Sasha, being a kitchen witch, had made the cake herself and picked out every dish on the menu, keeping the circumstances in mind. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

"Have you ever been to a handfasting before?" Eren asked Levi as they ate their main course.

"Once, but that was awhile ago. And at that wedding, they only used the basic concept of a handfasting. They didn't cast a circle, they didn't do the circle walking thing, they didn't use a sword and they were only tied together for the ceremony, not the whole night."

Eren's eyebrows shot up. "Sasha and Connie's hands have to be tied together the whole night?"

"Yeah, but that's nothing. Some people get really traditional and keep it that way for twenty four hours then go back to whoever tied them together to be unbound."

Eren tossed a look at the couple where they sat and got to thinking. "I wonder what happens when one of them has to go to the bathroom."

Levi snorted a laugh. "I guess they just have to trust the other not to look."

Eren chuckled. "Probably... and what was that part about the sword for?"

"It's more symbolic than anything. Back in the day, the sword was sharpened so it would cut their hands, and that would make them joined by blood. But you know... I don't think that would go over very well at this day and age."

"... You're probably right."

The night went on and soon, the dance floor was open and Connie was giving everyone secondhand embarrassment. With the exception of Sasha. She married him, so she knew what she was getting into.

"Do you dance?" Levi asked.

Eren shook his head, smiling. "Not really."

"Good, me neither."

Eren laughed at Levi's relief.

"I would've gone up there if you wanted to, though."

Eren leaned his elbow against the table. "Wow, what a gentleman. Even if I did want to, I wouldn't have made you dance if that's not your thing."

"You wouldn't have known, I would've went along with it," Levi countered.

"You'd lie and say you like dancing?" Eren asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. He couldn't picture Levi dancing no matter how hard he tried. 

"You wouldn't believe me?"

"No, absolutely not," Eren laughed.

"Fair enough."

The two turned back to watch all of those brave enough to make their way to the dance floor. Among the unfamiliar faces of Connie and Sasha's friends and family, they could make out a couple of the members of their coven. Christa had brought Ymir out with her and they shared a few dances. Mikasa had also invited Armin to come dance with her, and though he was hesitant, he eventually agreed. It was nice to see all their friends having a good time outside of the setting they usually met in. 

 

~

 

The reception went on well into the night and Eren and Levi found it hard to leave. But when they did, they decided to drive back to Eren's apartment, mostly, so he could take care of Soot after being gone for so long.

Levi was on the edge of sleep for half of the ride while Eren drove. "That was so much fun," Eren said, thinking back to the wedding. 

"So, it's fair to say you enjoyed your first handfasting?" Levi asked.

"Yeah, definitely. I thought it was cool to see a different variation of how people get married. I never felt a connection to Christianity or the way most weddings are done, so when I was watching, I was also thinking that that's how I'd want to do it."

Levi perked up, but just barely because of his exhaustion. "That's something you're interested in?"

"Mhm. I'd have to do more research on it, because I think there are still some parts I didn't understand, but I think that's the kind of wedding I'd want."

Levi could feel his heart beating slightly faster. He didn't want to bring up the idea of marriage with Eren yet, it was still too soon. But just hearing that Eren planned on getting married at all gave him even more hope for their relationship. Though, he didn't want to let himself read too far into it. 

"What do you think, Levi? Have you thought about it?"

Levi widened his eyes at Eren. "About... getting married?"

"Yeah. Obviously not real soon, but... eventually. In the future." 

"Um... not too much. But I've thought about it."

Eren started to worry that he'd asked an uncomfortable question for Levi. "Sorry if I made things weird. It's just that after going to a wedding, you start thinking about those kinds of things, you know?"

"I understand. And you didn't make anything weird. Do you... do you see us making it that far?"

Eren shrugged. "I know it's still early on, but... yeah. I think so."

Levi had always had a feeling that this relationship would lead somewhere. But he just wanted to hear what Eren thought.

"You can go to sleep if you want. It's still a while until we get back to my apartment."

"Okay," Levi yawned. But now he found it more difficult to fall asleep, now that his hopes that Eren wouldn't leave were reassured.

 

~

 

~ Five years later ~

Ymir boasted over how she predicted Eren and Levi's success in their relationship, but the rest of the coven had a feeling that it would work out almost as long as she did. And that was without using divination.

While Levi had his own insecurities, they weren't enough to make him worrisome of the longevity of his shared time with Eren. And Eren had no intentions of leaving Levi any time soon. Or ever, for that matter. 

Three years into their relationship, they both moved out and found an apartment. Soot became rather fond of Levi, although, she never gave up her habit of screeching when he was near. Eren and Levi mutually agreed that it was a sign of affection. Their new apartment was closer to where the coven meetings were held. More members accumulated over time, but all were welcome and the coven strongly believed in the saying 'the more, the merrier.' 

As the days went on, it became more clear to Eren and Levi that they finally had what they were both missing. And they wouldn't be giving it up for the world.

While sharing a day off, Levi tidied around the apartment while Eren was doing a working in their bedroom. Soot scratched at the shut door and Levi figured she wanted attention from her papa, so he opened the door for her.

Eren turned around in his seat at his altar at the noise and smiled when he saw Soot running towards him.

"Sorry to disturb you, she's apparently attention starved," Levi excused himself, leaning on the broom.

"That's alright, I was finishing up anyways," Eren said, reaching down to scratch his cat behind her ears. 

Levi walked in and stood behind Eren, looking over his shoulder at his stack of journals and the new grimoire he was currently filling. "How's your working going?"

"Good, I was transferring the last few pages from my mother's grimoire into this one, then I realized I could change up one of the recipes she left so it works better. It's the one I could never get right years ago." Eren still kept the book his mother gave him. And he read it often. But he wouldn't follow every single instruction exactly. He'd used them more as guidelines. Some things he did the same and some he altered to be easier or more beneficial to him. And after awhile, he decided to transfer only the contents that were still useful to him into his current grimoire.

"That's good," Levi commented.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna try it out within the next couple days."

Levi nodded. "Why don't you take a break for now? We could go get lunch."

Soot let out an alarming yowl as she ran to the window. Eren stood to look out at what had worried her, and saw the clouds gathering. "Maybe we shouldn't. The weather reports said there's going to be really bad storm. I can get lunch started though."

As Eren left the room, Levi walked over to the window, smiling to himself as the sunlight slowly disappeared behind the dark clouds.

 

~

 

Levi and Eren retired for the night, clicking off their bedside lamps and letting Soot snuggle between them. It was a routine they both fell into comfortably after moving into their shared apartment. They pressed close to each other, but not too close, both being mindful of the cat the fit between their stomachs.

"I was thinking today," Levi yawned, his head resting on Eren's arm. "This is the longest lasting relationship I've been in."

"Same with me," Eren said. "Happiest relationship I've had, too."

Levi grinned at him, wondering if he could see it in such low light. "It is for me as well."

"You know," Eren chuckled. "I don't think I ever told you this, but before we started dating, Ymir kinda predicted that I'd end up with you."

Levi quirked an eyebrow at him. "Did she?"

"Yeah. She predicted how I'd be in a stable relationship with a guy. She didn't say it in those exact words, but something along those lines. And I'm glad it came true." He leaned forward to leave a kiss on Levi's forehead. 

Levi kissed him back. "I am too. I don't think she's ever been wrong with her predictions."

"Do you think she'd be able to tell us what we'll be wearing at our wedding or is that too specific?"

Levi stilled for a moment. Eren stilled planned on staying for the long run. He really did want to spend his life with him. All this time and he still showed Levi just as much (if not more) affection and attention as when they had first gotten together. And Levi never failed to let Eren know how much he meant to him.

"Levi?"

Levi snapped out of his daze. "Sorry, I just... started thinking about something else."

"Are you alright?" 

"Yes, it wasn't anything bad. I was thinking about how perfectly everything's going for us. I trust you so much, and I'm not doing it blindly. We've had minor disagreements, but we never fight. I love you so much." 

"I love you, too." 

They talked about little things for awhile until they both eventually fell asleep halfway through a discussion. But they'd probably pick up where they left off the next morning when they woke up in the exact same positions with Soot clawing on Eren to get more comfortable. Many people dreaded routine with their partners, finding it to be a boring way to live. But they loved knowing that the first thing they'd see when they woke up in the morning was the other's face.

 

~

 

It wasn't planned out thoroughly, all there was was a mutual agreement that it would be happening on that night. Similar to a wedding, in the sense that they'd be bonded together, but different in the way that there was no ceremony, no guests, no legal documents, nothing conventional. But to them it possessed the same sentiment. 

Soot passed out under the couch, tuckered out after playing with her toys for so long. Eren and Levi escaped to their room after getting ready separately. Eren slid on a robe that he occasionally used for longer, more complicated spells, and Levi draped sheer fabric over himself loosely. When they joined each other in the bedroom, that was when the ritual began.

It wasn't like their other rituals. No circle was casted, they didn't prepare tools, and they didn't check the moon phase to use it to their advantage. All they needed was each other. 

Eren lit an umpteen amount of candles. They could've held significance if he wanted them to, but his only intentions were to set the mood. And that was enough to give them importance.

"Are you ready?" Eren asked.

Levi opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a clap of thunder that made him jump. Levi tossed a glance towards the window, then returned his gaze back to Eren. He didn't need to look out the window. The rain wasn't nearly as captivating. "I'm ready."

A slow, gentle kiss marked the beginning of their own sacred, unintentional ritual. 

The satin robe and light fabric fell to the floor. Fingertips ghosted over exposed skin with goosebumps sprouting slowly. In this experience, Levi finally had what he was robbed from his first time. He had someone who valued him and treated him with as much love as he had to give. Eren finally had what he'd been lacking for years. Promised time with somebody he loved.

At first, everything was so careful. They were both afraid to go too fast or be too forceful. But once they set a pace, it all came so naturally. Levi clung to Eren with all that he had, shutting his eyes to focus on everything he felt. He didn't see the way the candle flames thinned and grew higher. Eren couldn't contain the noises he made, unable to hear the patter of the rain over his own voice.

They were too wrapped up in each other to feel anything else. The fires swayed on the wicks, much like the bodies on the bed. Lightning flashes became more and more frequent, pulsing in the clouds the veins being filled with adrenaline. The world around moved with as much life as they did, but they couldn't be bothered to observe any of it.

They came down from their high, breathing the same air and holding onto each other while they collected themselves again. 

Levi weaved his fingers through Eren's hair, staring into his eyes intently as if he was trying to find something in them. But he wasn't scrying. He didn't need check their future to reassure himself, he wanted to live in this moment forever.

Eren listened to the sound of Levi breathing and held his hand to Levi's chest, feeling his heartbeat. "Was it what you wanted?"

It certainly wasn't what most would consider mind-blowing, but Levi wouldn't have wanted it to go any differently. He was so taken with Eren that anything at all would've been enough for him. Every second shared with him in any way he was grateful for. "Yes." 

And by the scratching and soft sounds coming from the other side of their door, they were pulled back down to earth. Eren huffed out a short laugh. "She knows it's bedtime."

Levi nodded, smiling in amusement. "Go let her in."

Eren reluctantly got up, throwing on a random pair of pants and opened the door for Soot to come in. "I'll get things to clean up."

Levi nodded in acknowledgment and watched Eren go.

The world wouldn't stop spinning for anything, but that didn't help the fact that it felt that way to them when they got caught up in each other. It didn't matter if they were merely in the same room figuring out bills, or if they were sharing a long, passionate evening. They only added onto each other's energy, making everything else seem to disintegrate around them.

**Author's Note:**

> Please check out my partners' amazing work! 
> 
> If you liked this, please leave a comment or kudos! My tumblrs are dr-s--art and the-witch-daddy. Thanks for reading! <3


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